Transmission method, transmission control method, and communication apparatus

ABSTRACT

A transmission method is provided for a communication system in which communications using a plurality of communication methods having different transmission parameters are performed at the same frequency (in frequency bands that at least partially overlap with each other). The transmission method includes: generating a first symbol group that includes a control symbol for causing a communication partner apparatus to recognize that communication using a first communication method is to be performed and a second symbol group that includes a data symbol for the first communication method; transmitting the first symbol group at a first transmit power; and transmitting the second symbol group at a second transmit power that is smaller than the first transmit power.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a transmission method, a transmissioncontrol method, and a communication apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, an environment is expected where appliances that usevarious wireless communication methods share the same frequency band andco-exist in the same area. There have been proposed technologies foravoiding mutual interference of such appliances that use variouswireless communication methods. For co-existence of WiMAX® andBluetooth®, Japanese Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCTApplication) No. 2010-524346 (hereinafter referred to as “PatentDocument 1”) discloses arranging transmission/reception in one wirelessframe and transmission/reception in another wireless frame so that theydo not temporally overlap each other by adjusting a wireless frame to anassociated time reference.

However; in Patent Document 1, no consideration has been given to aco-existing system for realizing, for example, both short-rangecommunication (such as a near field communication (NFC) or personal areanetwork (PAN)) in which the transmit power is relatively low andlong-range communication (such as a wireless local area network (LAN) orcellular communication) in which the transmit power is relatively highby using the same frequency (frequency bands that at least partiallyoverlap each other).

Since the transmit power set for short-range communication is lower thanthe transmit power set for long-range communication, there is a highpossibility that, at the same frequency, an appliance that performsshort-range communication is one-sidedly affected by interference due toa signal from an appliance that performs long-range communication.Hence, when long-range communication is performed, short-rangecommunication cannot be performed; thus resulting in a decrease in thedata transmission size of the entire communication system.

SUMMARY

One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment provides a transmissionmethod, a transmission control method, and a communication apparatusthat can suppress a reduction in a data transmission size even whenshort-range communication and long-range communication are made toco-exist at the same frequency (frequency bands that at least partiallyoverlap with each other).

In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature atransmission method for a communication system in which communicationsusing a plurality of communication methods having different transmissionparameters are performed in frequency bands that at least partiallyoverlap with each other. The transmission method includes; generating afirst symbol group that includes a control symbol for causing acommunication partner apparatus to recognize that communication using afirst communication method is to be performed, and a second symbol groupthat includes a data symbol for the first communication method;transmitting the first symbol group at a first transmit power; andtransmitting the second symbol group at a second transmit power that issmaller than the first transmit power.

It should be noted that general or specific embodiments may beimplemented as a system, an apparatus, a device, a method, an integratedcircuit, a computer program, or a storage medium, or any selectivecombination thereof.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible tosuppress a reduction in a data transmission size even when short-rangecommunication and long-range communication are made to co-exist at thesame frequency (frequency bands that at least partially overlap eachother).

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example configuration of acommunication system including appliances that perform short-rangecommunication and appliances that perform long-range communicationaccording to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example frame structure when a terminal that cansupport both short-range communication and long-range communicationaccording to the first embodiment transmits a modulated signal;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example frame structure when a terminal thatsupports short-range communication according to the first embodimenttransmits a modulated signal;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example frame structure when a terminal thatsupports long-range communication according to the first embodimenttransmits a modulated signal;

FIG. 6 illustrates one example of arrangement of BPSK signal points inan I-Q plane for large-transmit-power symbols according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of arrangement of BPSK signal points inthe I-Q plane for small-transmit-power symbols according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 8 illustrates one example of arrangement of QPSK signal points inthe I-Q plane for small-transmit-power symbols according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 9 illustrates one example of arrangement of symbols alongfrequency-time axes for large-transmit-power symbols according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 10 illustrates one example of arrangement of symbols alongfrequency-time axes for large-transmit-power symbols according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 11 illustrates one example of arrangement of BPSK signal points inthe I-Q plane for large-transmit-power symbols according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of ashort-range communication AP according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example frame structure when the short-rangecommunication AP according to the first embodiment transmits a modulatedsignal;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of thelong-range communication AP according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 15 illustrates an example frame structure when a long-rangecommunication AP according to the first embodiment transmits a modulatedsignal;

FIG. 16 illustrates an example configuration of a communication systemincluding appliances that perform short-range communication andappliances that perform long-range communication according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 17 illustrates an example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the appliance that performs short-range communicationaccording to the first embodiment (when one terminal transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol);

FIG. 18 illustrates an example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmission by the appliance that performs short-range communicationaccording to the first embodiment (when the terminal does not transmit alarge-transmit-power symbol);

FIG. 19 illustrates an example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the appliance that performs short-range communicationaccording to a second embodiment (when the terminal transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol);

FIG. 20 is an example frame structure of a modulated signal transmittedby the appliance that performs short-range communication according tothe second embodiment (when the terminal transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol);

FIG. 21 illustrates an example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the appliance that performs short-range communicationaccording to the second embodiment (when the terminal does not transmita large-transmit-power symbol);

FIG. 22 illustrates an example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the appliance that performs short-range communicationaccording to the second embodiment (when the terminal does not transmita large-transmit-power symbol);

FIG. 23 illustrates an example frame structure when short-rangecommunication symbols according to a third embodiment are transmittedfor a long period of time;

FIG. 24 illustrates an example frame structure of modulated signalstransmitted by a terminal and a short-range communication AP accordingto the third embodiment;

FIG. 25 illustrates an example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmission by the terminal according to the third embodiment;

FIG. 26 illustrates an example frame structure of modulated signalstransmitted by the appliances that perform short-range communicationaccording to the third embodiment (when a guard section is reserved, andthe terminal does not transmit a large-transmit-power symbol); and

FIG. 27 illustrates an example frame structure of modulated signalstransmitted by the appliances that perform short-range communicationaccording to the third embodiment (when no guard section is reserved,and the terminal does not transmit a large-transmit-power symbol).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment

[Overview of Communication System]

FIG. 1 illustrates an example configuration of a communication systemaccording to a first embodiment. In the communication system illustratedin FIG. 1, short-range communication and long-range communication areperformed using the same frequency (frequency band). The expression“using the same frequency (frequency band)” as used herein means that afrequency band used in short-range communication and a frequency bandused in long-range communication at least partially overlap with eachother.

Specifically, in FIG. 1, an access point (AP) 101 and a terminal # A(102) perform long-range communication, and a short-range communicationAP #1 (103) and a terminal # B (104) perform short-range communication.

As described above, the short-range communication is communication, suchas NFC or PAN, in which the transmit power is relatively low, and thelong-range communication is communication, such as wireless LANcommunication or cellular communication, in which the transmit power isrelatively high. Details of the relative relationship between thetransmit power in the short-range communication and the transmit powerin the long-range communication are described later.

Also, in FIG. 1, the short-range communication and the long-rangecommunication are performed using the same frequency (frequency bandsthat at least partially overlap each other). Communication parametersused in the short-range communication and communication parameters usedin the long-range communication differ from each other.

The AP may also be referred to as a “base station”, a “transmitterstation”, or the like, and each terminal may also be referred to as a“receiver station”, “user equipment (UE)”, or the like.

[Configuration of Terminal]

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminalthat operates in the communication system according to the presentembodiment.

A terminal 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 operates as, for example, theterminal # A (102) or the terminal # B (104) illustrated in FIG. 1.

The terminal 20 illustrated in FIG. 2 has a configuration including areceiving antenna 201, a receiver 203, a controller 206, a transmitter209, and a transmitting antenna 211.

The receiver 203 in the terminal 20 operates when a modulated signaltransmitted from a communication partner is present. A received signal202 received via the antenna 201 is input to the receiver 203. Thereceiver 203 performs reception processing, such as frequencyconversion, frequency and time synchronization, demodulation, and errorcorrection decoding, on the received signal 202 and outputs receiveddata 204 and/or control information 205. The control information 205includes, for example, information regarding a communication method(short-range communication or long-range communication) or informationindicating a communication start.

Upon receiving an instruction signal 200 including informationindicating a communication start, the controller 206 generates a controlsignal 207 related to the communication start and outputs the controlsignal 207 to the transmitter 209. The control signal 207 includes, forexample, information regarding a communication method (short-rangecommunication or long-range communication), information regarding amodulation system, and information regarding an error correction system.

The control information 205 is one of inputs to the controller 206, andthe controller 206 may switch the communication method on the basis ofthe control information 205. The controller 206 may output the controlsignal 207 related to the communication start to the transmitter 209,based on the information included in the control information 205 andindicating the communication start.

Data 208 and the control signal 207 are input to the transmitter 209.The transmitter 209 generates a data symbol by performing processing,such as error-correction encoding and modulation (mapping), on the data208 and the control signal 207. The transmitter 209 also generates asymbol for synchronizing in a time domain or a frequency domain, asymbol for signal detection in a receiving apparatus, a pilot symbol(reference symbol) for estimating a propagation path, a symbol forautomatic gain control (AGC) (i.e., a symbol for adjusting the level ofa signal in a receiving apparatus), a control symbol, and so on andoutputs a modulated signal 210 corresponding to the symbols.

The modulated signal 210 is output from the antenna 211 over a radiowave. A communication system in this case may be an Orthogonal FrequencyDivision Multiplexing (OFDM) system, a single carrier transmissionsystem, or a spread-spectrum communication system.

The controller 206 also sets a transmit power for the data symbol andcontrol symbol, based on a communication method (short-rangecommunication or long-range communication) that can be executed by theterminal 20. For example, an average transmit power of modulated signalsfor short-range communication is denoted by Pa, and an average transmitpower of modulated signals for long-range communication is denoted byPb. In this case, Pa<Pb (Pb is larger than Pa) is satisfied.

[Structure of Transmission Frame of Terminal 20]

The terminal 20 can take the communication form of (1) a terminal thatcan perform both short-range communication and long-range communication,(2) a terminal that can perform only short-range communication, or (3) aterminal that can perform only long-range communication.

The following description will be given of one example structure of atransmission frame transmitted by the terminal 20 in each communicationform described above.

(1) The Structure of a Frame Transmitted by the Terminal 20 that canPerform Both Short-Range Communication and Long-Range Communication

FIG. 3 illustrates one example frame structure of a modulated signalwhen the terminal 20 that can transmit both a short-range communicationmodulated signal and a long-range communication modulated signaltransmits short-range communication data.

That is, FIG. 3 illustrates an example frame structure when the terminal# B (104) illustrated in FIG. 1 transmits short-range communication datato the short-range communication AP #1 (103).

In FIG. 3, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axisrepresents a transmit power.

First, the terminal 20 transmits large-transmit-power symbols 301.

The structure of the symbols 301 illustrated in FIG. 3 is an examplestructure of large-transmit-power symbols. The symbols 301 are, forexample, a symbol group including a synchronization symbol (i.e., asymbol for achieving frequency synchronization and/or timesynchronization in a receiving apparatus), a symbol for AGC (i.e., asymbol for adjusting the level of a signal in a receiving apparatus), acontrol symbol, and so on. The symbols 301 may further include a symbolfor signal detection.

Symbols 302, 303, 304, and 305 are symbols for short-rangecommunication. The symbol 302 is a synchronization symbol forshort-range communication (i.e., a symbol for achieving frequencysynchronization and/or time synchronization in a receiving apparatus).When the terminal 20 transmits the modulated signal illustrated in FIG.3, a short-range communication AP that is a receiving apparatus performsfrequency synchronization and/or time synchronization by using thesynchronization symbol 302. The short-range communication AP may performsignal detection by detecting the synchronization symbol 302. Anotherpossible method is that a symbol (not illustrated) for signal detectionin the short-range communication AP exists prior to the synchronizationsymbol 302.

The symbol 303 is a symbol for AGC for short-range communication(hereinafter may be referred to as a “short-range communication AGCsymbol”). When the terminal 20 transmits the modulated signalillustrated in FIG. 3, the short-range communication AP that is areceiving apparatus adjusts the signal level of the received signal byusing the AGC symbol 303.

The symbol 304 is a control symbol for short-range communication(hereinafter may be referred to as a “short-range communication controlsymbol”).

The data symbol 305 is a data symbol for short-range communication(hereinafter may be referred to as a “short-range communication datasymbol”) and for transmitting data to a receiving apparatus that is acommunication partner. The control symbol 304 is, for example, a symbolfor notifying a communication partner about information regarding anerror-correction-coding method (e.g., a coding rate of error correctioncoding, a code length (a block length) of error correction coding, andso on) used for generating the short-range communication data symbol305, a modulation system, and so on.

In FIG. 3, the large-transmit-power symbols 301 are transmitted from theterminal # B by using a transmit power at a level with which they canalso be received by the AP (101) and the terminal # A (102) illustratedin FIG. 1. That is, when the terminal 20 in FIG. 2 supports bothshort-range communication and long-range communication, the transmitter209 in FIG. 2 transmits the large-transmit-power symbols 301 by using atransmit power set for the long-range communication, and transmits thesymbols 302 to 305 for the short-range communication by using a transmitpower set for the short-range communication.

The control symbol included in the large-transmit-power symbols 301 inFIG. 3 also includes information indicating whether the terminal 20 inFIG. 2 is performing short-range communication or long-rangecommunication. For example, the control symbol may include bit c0, inwhich case, when the terminal 20 transmits a short-range communicationdata symbol, c0 may be set to “0”, and when the terminal 20 transmits along-range communication data symbol, c0 may be set to “1”. In FIG. 3,since the terminal 20 transmits the short-range communication datasymbols, c0 is set to “0”.

In contrast, the synchronization symbol 302, the AGC symbol 303, thecontrol symbol 304, and the data symbol 305 illustrated in FIG. 3 aresymbols (a symbol group) for short-range communication. That is, theseshort-range communication symbols are symbols for the terminal # B (104)to perform transmission to the short-range communication AP #1 (103)illustrated in FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 3, these short-rangecommunication symbols are small-transmit-power symbols relative to thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301.

Detailed descriptions of the large-transmit-power symbols 301 and thesmall-transmit-power symbols 302 to 305 are given later.

Also, characteristic points in the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 3are that the large-transmit-power symbols 301 include an AGC symbol (afirst AGC symbol), and another AGC symbol 303 (a second AGC symbol)exists in the short-range communication symbols 302 to 305.

Specifically, in FIG. 1, when the terminal # B (104) transmits the firstAGC symbol included in the large-transmit-power symbols 301, the AP(101), the terminal # A (102), and the short-range communication AP #1(103) can easily adjust the level of received signals(large-transmit-power symbols) in accordance with the transmit power inthe long-range communication. Thus, the AP (101) and the terminal # A(102) can demodulate the information in the large-transmit-power symbols301.

Also, in FIG. 1, when the terminal # B (104) transmits the second AGCsymbol 303, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) can easily adjustthe level of a received signal (small-transmit-power symbols) inaccordance with the transmit power in the short-range communication.Thus, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) can demodulate theshort-range communication control symbol 304 and the short-rangecommunication data symbol 305.

As described above, by using the first AGC symbol included in thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301 and the second AGC symbol included inthe short-range communication symbols 302 to 305, as illustrated in FIG.3, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) can accurately adjust thereception-signal levels of both of the symbol groups transmitted usingthe different transmit powers.

The operations of the AP (101), the short-range communication AP #1(103), and the terminal # A (102), illustrated in FIG. 1, when the frameillustrated in FIG. 3 is received are described below in detail.

Also, the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 3 is one example and mayinclude a symbol other than the symbols illustrated in FIG. 3. Examplesof such a symbol include a pilot symbol (a reference symbol) for areceiving apparatus to estimate a channel change.

(2) The Structure of a Frame Transmitted by the Terminal 20 that canPerform Only Short-Range Communication

FIG. 4 illustrates one example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the terminal 20 that can transmit a short-rangecommunication modulated signal.

That is, FIG. 4 illustrates an example frame structure when the terminal# B (104) illustrated in FIG. 1 transmits short-range communication datato the short-range communication AP #1 (103).

In FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axisrepresents a transmit power. In the frame structure illustrated in FIG.4, substantially the same structure as the frame structure illustratedin FIG. 3 is denoted by the same reference numerals, and a descriptionthereof is not given hereinafter.

Specifically, the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 4 differs from theframe structure illustrated in FIG. 3 in that large-transmit-powersymbols do not exist.

A synchronization symbol 302, an AGC symbol 303, a control symbol 304,and a data symbol 305 illustrated in FIG. 4 are short-rangecommunication symbols. That is, these short-range communication symbolsare symbols for the terminal # B (104) to perform transmission to theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) illustrated in FIG. 1.

The operation of the short-range communication AP #1 (103), illustratedin FIG. 1, when the frame illustrated in FIG. 4 is received is describedlater in detail.

Also, the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 4 is one example and mayinclude a symbol other than the symbols illustrated in FIG. 4. Examplesof such a symbol include a pilot symbol (a reference symbol) for areceiving apparatus to estimate a channel change.

(3) The Structure of a Frame Transmitted by the Terminal 20 that canPerform Only Long-Range Communication

FIG. 5 illustrates one example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the terminal 20 that can transmit a long-rangecommunication modulated signal.

That is, FIG. 5 illustrates an example frame structure when the terminal# A (102) illustrated in FIG. 1 transmits long-range communication datato the AP (101).

In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axisrepresents a transmit power. In the frame structure illustrated in FIG.5, substantially the same structure as the frame structure illustratedin FIG. 3 is denoted by the same reference numerals, and a descriptionthereof is not given hereinafter.

Specifically, the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 5 differs from theframe structure illustrated in FIG. 3 in that symbols 501 to 504 arearranged instead of the symbols 302 to 305. In the frame structureillustrated in FIG. 5, large-transmit-power symbols 301 are provided, asin the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 3.

The symbol 501 illustrated in FIG. 5 is a synchronization symbol forlong-range communication (i.e., a symbol for achieving frequencysynchronization and/or time synchronization in a receiving apparatus).When the terminal 20 in FIG. 2 transmits the modulated signalillustrated in FIG. 5, the AP (101) that is a receiving apparatusperforms frequency synchronization and/or time synchronization by usingthe synchronization symbol 501. The AP (101) may perform signaldetection by detecting the synchronization symbol 501. Another possiblemethod is that a symbol (not illustrated) for signal detection in the APexists prior to the synchronization symbol 501.

A symbol 502 is an AGC symbol for long-range communication. When theterminal 20 transmits the modulated signal illustrated in FIG. 5, the AP(101) that is a receiving apparatus adjusts the signal level of areceived signal by using the AGC symbol 502.

The symbol 503 is a control symbol for long-range communication.

The symbol 504 is a data symbol for long-range communication and fortransmitting data to a communication partner. The control symbol 503 is,for example, a symbol for notifying a communication partner aboutinformation regarding an error-correction-coding method (e.g., a codingrate of error correction coding, a code length (a block length) of errorcorrection coding, and so on) used for generating the long-rangecommunication data symbol 504, a modulation system, and so on.

In FIG. 5, the large-transmit-power symbols 301 are transmitted from theterminal # A (102) by using a transmit power at a level with which theycan be received by the AP (101), the terminal # B (104), and theshort-range communication AP #1 (103), which are illustrated in FIG. 1.

The control symbol included in the large-transmit-power symbols 301includes information indicating whether the terminal 20 is performingshort-range communication or long-range communication. For example, thecontrol symbol may include bit c0, in which case, when the terminal 20transmits a short-range communication data symbol, c0 may be set to “0”,and when the terminal 20 transmits a long-range communication datasymbol, c0 may be set to “1”. In FIG. 5, since the terminal 20 transmitsthe long-range communication data symbols, c0 is set to “1”.

Also, in FIG. 5, the synchronization symbol 501, the AGC symbol 502, thecontrol symbol 503, and the data symbol 504 are symbols (a symbol group)for long-range communication. That is, these long-range communicationsymbols are symbols for the terminal # A (102) illustrated in FIG. 1 toperform transmission to the AP (101). As illustrated in FIG. 5, theselong-range communication symbols are transmitted from the terminal # A(102) by using a transmit power at a level with which they can bereceived by at least the AP (101) illustrated in FIG. 1 (i.e., atransmit power that is equivalent to that of the large-transmit-powersymbols 301).

A detailed description of the large-transmit-power symbols 301 is givenlater.

The operations of the AP (101), the short-range communication AP #1(103), and the terminal # A (102), illustrated in FIG. 1, when the frameillustrated in FIG. 5 is received are described below in detail.

Also, the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 5 is one example and mayinclude a symbol other than the symbols illustrated in FIG. 5. Examplesof such a symbol include a pilot symbol (a reference symbol) for areceiving apparatus to estimate a channel change.

The above description has been given of one example structure of thetransmission frame corresponding to each communication form of theterminal 20.

[Large-Transmit-Power Symbols and Small-Transmit-Power Symbols]

Next, the large-transmit-power symbols 301 and the small-transmit-powersymbols (short-range communication symbols) 302 to 305 will be describedin detail.

Now, a case in which binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) is applied to alarge-transmit-power symbol will be described as one example. FIG. 6illustrates an example of arrangement of BPSK signal points in anin-phase/quadrature-phase plane (I-Q plane) for a larger-transmit-powersymbol.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a signal point for data b0=“0” is arranged atan in-phase component I=−1×a and a quadrature component Q=0. A signalpoint for data b0=“1” is arranged at an in-phase component I=1×a and aquadrature component Q=0. In this case, a is the absolute value of thein-phase component of the signal point of a large-transmit-power symboland is a real number larger than 0.

FIG. 7 illustrates one example of arrangement of BPSK signal points inthe I-Q plane when BPSK is applied to each short-range communicationsymbol (the synchronization symbol 302, the AGC symbol 303, the controlsymbol 304, or the data symbol 305) illustrated in FIG. 3 or 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, a signal point for data b0=“0” is arranged atan in-phase component I=−1×b and a quadrature component Q=0. Also, asignal point for data b0=“1” is arranged at an in-phase component I=1×band a quadrature component Q=0. In this case, b is the absolute value ofthe in-phase component of the signal point of a short-rangecommunication symbol and is a real number larger than 0.

In this case, since a is larger than b (a>b) at signal points arrangedin the I-Q plane, the large-transmit-power symbols 301 and theshort-range communication symbols (i.e., the small-transmit-powersymbols) 302 to 305, as illustrated in FIG. 3, hold true.

FIG. 8 illustrates one example of arrangement of quadrature phase-shiftkeying (QPSK) signal points in an I-Q plane when QPSK is applied to eachshort-range communication symbol (the synchronization symbol 302, theAGC symbol 303, the control symbol 304, or the data symbol 305)illustrated in FIG. 3 or 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, signal points for data b0=“0” and data b1=“0”are arranged at an in-phase component I=1×c and a quadrature componentQ=1×c. Also, signal points for data b0=“0” and data b1=“1” are arrangedat an in-phase component I=1×c and a quadrature component Q=−1×c. Signalpoints for data b0=“1” and data b1=“0” are arranged at an in-phasecomponent I=−1×c and a quadrature component Q=1×c. Signal point for datab0=“1” and data b1=“1” are arranged at an in-phase component I=−1×c anda quadrature component Q=−1×c. In this case, c is the absolute value ofthe in-phase component and the quadrature component of the signal pointof a short-range communication symbol and is a real number larger than0.

In this case, with respect to the signal points arranged in the I-Qplane, the relationship given by expression (1) below is satisfiedbetween the large-transmit-power symbols illustrated in FIG. 6 and theshort-range communication symbols (i.e., the small-transmit-powersymbols) illustrated in FIG. 8.a>c×√{square root over (2)}  (1)

Next, FIGS. 9 and 10 each illustrate one example of symbol arrangementin a frequency-time domain for large-transmit-power symbols when amulti-carrier system, such as an OFDM system, is used.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of arrangement of symbols when thehorizontal axis represents a frequency and the vertical axis representstime. In FIG. 9, the frequency-axis direction is constituted by carriers1 to 6, and the time-axis direction is constituted by frames of timepoints 1 and 2.

Symbols 901 illustrated in FIG. 9 represent symbols that are arranged inthe carriers 2, 4, and 6 and that include large-transmit-power symbols.For example, when the mapping illustrated in FIG. 6 is performed, thesymbols 901 are BPSK symbols.

Symbols 902 illustrated in FIG. 9 are symbols that are arranged in thecarriers 1, 3, and 5 and that do not include large-transmit-powersymbols. Thus, for example, the symbols 902 are symbols for the in-phasecomponent I=0 and the quadrature component Q=0.

The symbol arrangement in the frequency-time axes is not limited to FIG.9. A symbol other than the symbols 901 and 902 illustrated in FIG. 9 maybe included in the same time period.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of symbol arrangement when the horizontalaxis represents a frequency and the vertical axis represents time. FIG.10 illustrates an example of symbol arrangement that is different fromthat in FIG. 9. In FIG. 10, the frequency-axis direction is constitutedby carriers 1 to 6, and the time-axis direction is constituted by framesof time points 1 and 2.

In FIG. 10, symbols 901 including large-transmit-power symbols arearranged at time points 1 and 2 and carriers 1 to 6. For example, whenthe mapping illustrated in FIG. 6 is performed, the symbols 901 are BPSKsymbols.

The frame structure in the frequency-time axes is not limited to theframe structure illustrated in FIG. 10. Also, a symbol other than thesymbols 901 illustrated in FIG. 10 may be included in the same timedomain.

Also, BPSK using mapping that is different from the mapping illustratedin FIG. 6 may also be performed on the large-transmit-power symbols 301.FIG. 11 illustrates an example of arrangement of BPSK signal points inan I-Q plane, the example being different from that illustrated in FIG.6.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, a signal point for data b0=“0” is arranged atan in-phase component I=−1×d and a quadrature component Q=−1×d. Also, asignal point for data b0=“1” is arranged at an in-phase component I=1×dand a quadrature component Q=1×d. In this case, d is the absolute valueof the in-phase component and the quadrature component of a signal pointof a large-transmit-power symbol and is a real number larger than 0.

In this case, with respect to signal points arranged in the I-Q plane,the relationship given by expression (2) below is satisfied between thelarge-transmit-power symbols illustrated in FIG. 11 and the short-rangecommunication symbols (i.e., the small-transmit-power symbols)illustrated in FIG. 7.d×√{square root over (2)}>b  (2)

Similarly, with respect to signal points arranged in the I-Q plane, therelationship given by expression (3) is satisfied between thelarge-transmit-power symbols illustrated in FIG. 11 and the short-rangecommunication symbols (i.e., the small-transmit-power symbols)illustrated in FIG. 8.d>c  (3)

The relationship between the large-transmit-power symbols 301 and thesmall-transmit-power symbols (the short-range communication symbols) 302to 305, which are described above, will be described below using ageneral expression.

When the number of signal points in the I-Q plane in the modulationsystem for the large-transmit-power symbols 301 is represented by M, thein-phase component of each signal point is represented by Ia,j, and thequadrature component thereof is represented by Qa,j, the averageelectric power is given by:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{M}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{M}\;\left( {I_{a,j}^{2} + Q_{a,j}^{2}} \right)}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

Also, when the number of signal points in the I-Q plane in themodulation system for the short-range communication data symbol 305illustrated in FIG. 3 or 4 is represented by N, the in-phase componentof each signal point is represented by Ib,j, and the quadraturecomponent thereof is represented by Qb,j, the average electric power isgiven by:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{1}{N}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N}\;\left( {I_{b,j}^{2} + Q_{b,j}^{2}} \right)}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

In this case, the relationship given by expression (6) below issatisfied between the average electric power of the signal points in theI-Q plane for the large-transmit-power symbols 301 and the averageelectric power of the signal points in the I-Q plane for the short-rangecommunication data symbol 305.

$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{1}{M}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{M}\;\left( {I_{a,j}^{2} + Q_{a,j}^{2}} \right)}} > {\frac{1}{N}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N}\left( {I_{b,j}^{2} + Q_{b,j}^{2}} \right)}}} & (6)\end{matrix}$

Expression (6) is also satisfied when the average electric power of thesynchronization symbol 302, the AGC symbol 303, or the control symbol304 illustrated in FIG. 3 or 4 is given by expression (5) noted above.

[Configuration of Short-Range Communication AP #1 (103)]

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) that operates in the communicationsystem according to the present embodiment.

The short-range communication AP #1 (103) illustrated in FIG. 12 has aconfiguration including a receiving antenna 1201, a receiver 1203, acontroller 1206, a transmitter 1209, and a transmitting antenna 1211.

The receiver 1203 in the short-range communication AP #1 (103) operateswhen a modulated signal transmitted from a communication partner ispresent. A received signal 1202 received by the antenna 1201 is input tothe receiver 1203. The receiver 1203 performs reception processing, suchas frequency conversion, frequency and time synchronization,demodulation, and error correction decoding, on the received signal 1202and outputs received data 1204 and/or control information 1205. thecontrol information 1205 includes, for example, information regarding acommunication method (short-range communication or long-rangecommunication) or information indicating a communication start.

In response to an instruction signal 1200 including informationindicating a communication start, the controller 1206 generates acontrol signal 1207 related to the communication start, and outputs thecontrol signal 1207 to the transmitter 1209. The control signal 1207includes, for example, information regarding a communication method(short-range communication or long-range communication), informationregarding a modulation system, and information regarding an errorcorrection system.

The control information 1205 is one of inputs to the controller 1206,and the controller 1206 may switch the communication method on the basisof the control information 1205. The controller 1206 may also output thecontrol signal 1207 related to a communication start to the transmitter1209, based on information included in the control information 1205 andindicating the communication start.

Data 1208 and the control signal 1207 are input to the transmitter 1209.The transmitter 1209 performs processing, such as error-correctionencoding and modulation (mapping), on the data 1208 and the controlsignal 1207 to generate a data symbol. The transmitter 1209 alsogenerates a symbol for synchronization in a time domain or frequencydomain, a symbol for signal detection in a receiving apparatus, a pilotsymbol (reference symbol) for estimating a propagation path, an AGCsymbol (i.e., a symbol for adjusting the level of a signal in areceiving apparatus), a control symbol, and so on and outputs amodulated signal 1210 corresponding to these symbols.

The modulated signal 1210 is output from the antenna 1211 over a radiowave. A communication system in this case may be an OFDM system, asingle carrier transmission system, or a spread-spectrum communicationsystem.

Also, during transmission of a short-range communication modulatedsignal, the controller 1206 performs control so that a long-rangecommunication modulated signal is also transmitted together therewith.During the control, the controller 1206 sets a transmit power for eachmodulated signal in the short-range communication and the long-rangecommunication. For example, an average transmit power of short-rangecommunication modulated signals is denoted by Pa, and an averagetransmit power of long-range communication modulated signals is denotedby Pb. In this case, Pa<Pb (Pb is larger than Pa) is satisfied.

[Structure of Transmission Frame of Short-Range Communication AP #1(103)]

The following description will be given of one example structure of atransmission frame transmitted by the short-range communication AP #1(103) described above and illustrated in FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 illustrates one example frame structure of a modulated signalwhen the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits short-rangecommunication data.

That is, FIG. 13 illustrates an example frame structure when theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) illustrated in FIG. 1 transmitsshort-range communication data to the terminal # B (104).

In FIG. 13, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axisrepresents a transmit power.

The short-range communication AP #1 (103) in FIG. 12 first transmitslarge-transmit-power symbols 1301. In this case, the possibility thatthe short-range communication AP #1 (103) can receive power suppliedfrom a power outlet is high, unlike terminals. In this respect, there isa possibility that a restriction of the short-range communication AP #1(103) regarding the power consumption required to transmit thelarge-transmit-power symbols 1301 is lower than that of terminals.

The structure of the symbols 1301 illustrated in FIG. 13 is an examplestructure of large-transmit-power symbols. The symbols 1301 are, forexample, a symbol group including a synchronization symbol (i.e., asymbol for achieving frequency synchronization and/or timesynchronization in a receiving apparatus), an AGC symbol (i.e., a symbolfor adjusting the level of a signal in a receiving apparatus), a controlsymbol, and so on. Also, the symbols 1301 may further include a symbolfor signal detection.

Symbols 1302, 1303, 1304, and 1305 are short-range communicationsymbols. The symbol 1302 is a synchronization symbol for short-rangecommunication (i.e., a symbol for achieving frequency synchronizationand/or time synchronization in a receiving apparatus). When theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits the modulated signalillustrated in FIG. 13, a terminal that is a receiving apparatusperforms frequency synchronization and/or time synchronization by usingthe synchronization symbol 1302. The terminal may also perform signaldetection by detecting the synchronization symbol 1302. Another possiblemethod is that a symbol (not illustrated) for signal detection in theterminal exists prior to the synchronization symbol 1302.

A symbol 1303 is an AGC symbol for short-range communication. When theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits a modulated signal, asillustrated in FIG. 13, the terminal that is a receiving apparatusadjusts the signal level of a received signal by using the AGC symbol1303.

The symbol 1304 is a short-range communication control symbol. Thecontrol symbol 1304 is, for example, a symbol for notifying acommunication partner about information regarding anerror-correction-coding method (e.g., a coding rate of error correctioncoding, a code length (a block length) of error correction coding, andso on) used for generating the short-range communication data symbol1305, a modulation system, and so on.

The symbol 1305 is a data symbol for short-range communication and fortransmitting data to a receiving apparatus that is a communicationpartner.

In FIG. 13, the large-transmit-power symbols 1301 are transmitted fromthe short-range communication AP #1 (103) by using a transmit power at alevel with which they can be received by the AP (101) and the terminal #A (102) illustrated in FIG. 1. That is, the transmitter 1209 in theshort-range communication AP transmits the large-transmit-power symbolsby using a transmit power set for the long-range communication andtransmits the short-range communication symbols 1302 to 1305 by using atransmit power set for the short-range communication.

Also, the control symbol included in the large-transmit-power symbols1301 includes information indicating whether the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) is performing short-range communication orlong-range communication. For example, the control symbol may includebit c0, in which case, when a short-range communication data symbol isto be transmitted, c0 may be set to “0”, and when a long-rangecommunication data symbol is to be transmitted, c0 may be set to “1”. InFIG. 13, since the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits theshort-range communication data symbols, c0 is set to “0”.

In contrast, the synchronization symbol 1302, the AGC symbol 1303, thecontrol symbol 1304, and the data symbol 1305 illustrated in FIG. 13 aresymbols (a symbol group) for short-range communication. That is, theseshort-range communication symbols are symbols for the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) illustrated in FIG. 1 to perform transmissionto the terminal # B (104). As illustrated in FIG. 13, these short-rangecommunication symbols are small-transmit-power symbols relative to thelarge-transmit-power symbols 1301.

Since the relationship between the large-transmit-power symbols 1301 andthe small-transmit-power symbols (the short-range communication symbols)1302 to 1305 is substantially the same as the relationship between thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301 and the small-transmit-power symbolsdescribed above using FIGS. 6 to 10, expressions (1) to (6), and so on,descriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

Characteristic points in the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 13 arethat the large-transmit-power symbols 1301 include an AGC symbol (afirst AGC symbol) and another AGC symbol 1303 (a second AGC symbol)exists in the short-range communication symbols 1302 to 1305.

Specifically, in FIG. 1, when the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits the first AGC symbol included in the large-transmit-powersymbols 1301, the AP (101), the terminal # A (102), or the terminal # B(104) can easily adjust the levels of signals (large-transmit-powersymbols) that are received. Thus, the AP (101) and the terminal # A(102) can demodulate the information in the large-transmit-power symbols1301.

Also, in FIG. 1, when the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits the second AGC symbol 1303, the terminal # B (104) can easilyadjust the level of a signal (small-transmit-power symbols) that isreceived. Thus, the terminal # B (104) can demodulate the short-rangecommunication control symbol 1304 and the short-range communication datasymbol 1305.

As described above, by using the first AGC symbol included in thelarge-transmit-power symbols 1301 and the second AGC symbol included inthe short-range communication symbols 1302 to 1305, as illustrated inFIG. 13, the terminal # B (104) can accurately adjust thereception-signal levels of both of the symbol groups transmitted usingthe different transmit powers.

The operations of the AP (101) and the terminal # A (102), illustratedin FIG. 1, when the frame illustrated in FIG. 13 is received aredescribed later in detail.

Also, the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 13 is one example and mayinclude a symbol other than the symbols illustrated in FIG. 13. Examplesof such a symbol include a pilot symbol (a reference symbol) for areceiving apparatus to estimate a channel change.

[Configuration of AP (101)]

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the AP(101) that operates in the communication system according to the presentembodiment.

The AP (101) illustrated in FIG. 14 has a configuration including areceiving antenna 1401, a receiver 1403, a controller 1406, atransmitter 1409, and a transmitting antenna 1411.

The receiver 1403 in the AP (101) operates when a modulated signaltransmitted from a communication partner is present. A received signal1402 received by the antenna 1401 is input to the receiver 1403. Thereceiver 1403 performs reception processing, such as frequencyconversion, frequency and time synchronization, demodulation, and errorcorrection decoding, on the received signal 1402 and outputs receiveddata 1404 and/or control information 1405. The control information 1405includes, for example, information regarding a communication method(short-range communication or long-range communication) or informationindicating a communication start.

In response to an instruction signal 1400 including informationindicating a communication start, the controller 1406 generates acontrol signal 1407 related to the communication start and outputs thecontrol signal 1407 to the transmitter 1409. The control signal 1407includes, for example, information regarding a communication method(short-range communication or long-range communication), informationregarding a modulation system, and information regarding an errorcorrection system.

The control information 1405 is one of inputs to the controller 1406,and the controller 1406 may switch the communication method on the basisof the control information 1405. Also, on the basis of informationincluded in the control information 1405 and indicating a communicationstart, the controller 1406 may output the control signal 1407 related tothe communication start to the transmitter 1409.

Data 1408 and the control signal 1407 are input to the transmitter 1409.The transmitter 1409 performs processing, such as error-correctionencoding and modulation (mapping), on the data 1408 and the controlsignal 1407 to generate a data symbol. The transmitter 1409 alsogenerates a symbol for synchronization in a time domain or frequencydomain, a symbol for signal detection in a receiving apparatus, a pilotsymbol (reference symbol) for estimating a propagation path, an AGCsymbol (i.e., a symbol for adjusting the level of a signal in areceiving apparatus), a control symbol, and so on and outputs amodulated signal 1410 corresponding to these symbols.

The modulated signal 1410 is output from the antenna 1411 over a radiowave. A communication system in this case may be an OFDM system, asingle carrier transmission system, or a spread-spectrum communicationsystem.

The controller 1406 also sets a transmit power for long-rangecommunication modulated signals. For example, an average transmit powerof short-range communication modulated signals is denoted by Pa, and anaverage transmit power of long-range communication modulated signals isdenoted by Pb. In this case, Pa<Pb (Pb is larger than Pa) is satisfied.

[Structure of Transmission Frame of AP (101)]

The description below will be given of one example structure of atransmission frame transmitted by the above-described AP (101).

FIG. 15 illustrates one example frame structure of a modulated signalwhen the AP (101) transmits long-range communication data.

That is, FIG. 15 illustrates an example frame structure when the AP(101) illustrated in FIG. 1 transmits long-range communication data tothe terminal # A (102).

In FIG. 15, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axisrepresents a transmit power. In the frame structure illustrated in FIG.15, substantially the same structure as the frame structure illustratedin FIG. 3 is denoted by the same reference numerals, and a descriptionthereof are not given hereinafter.

Specifically, in the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 15, the AP(101) first transmits large-transmit-power symbols 301, as in the framestructure illustrated in FIG. 3.

A symbol 1501 illustrated in FIG. 15 is a synchronization symbol forlong-range communication (i.e., a symbol for achieving frequencysynchronization and/or time synchronization in a receiving apparatus).When the AP (101) transmits the modulated signal illustrated in FIG. 15,the terminal # A (102) that is a receiving apparatus performs frequencysynchronization and/or time synchronization by using the synchronizationsymbol 1501. The terminal # A (102) may perform signal detection bydetecting the synchronization symbol 1501. Another possible method isthat a symbol (not illustrated) for signal detection in the terminal # A(102) exists prior to the synchronization symbol 1501.

A symbol 1502 is an AGC symbol for long-range communication. When the AP(101) transmits the modulated signal illustrated in FIG. 15, theterminal # A (102) that is a receiving apparatus adjusts the signallevel of a received signal by using the AGC symbol 1502.

A symbol 1503 is a control symbol for long-range communication.

A symbol 1504 is a data symbol for long-range communication and fortransmitting data to a communication partner. The control symbol 1503is, for example, a symbol for notifying a communication partner aboutinformation regarding an error-correction-coding method (e.g., a codingrate of error correction coding, a code length (a block length) of errorcorrection coding, and so on) used for generating the long-rangecommunication data symbol 1504, a modulation system, and so on.

In FIG. 15, the large-transmit-power symbols 301 are transmitted fromthe AP (101) by using a transmit power at a level with which they can bereceived by the terminal # A (102), the terminal # B (104), and theshort-range communication AP #1 (103), which are illustrated in FIG. 1.

The control symbol included in the large-transmit-power symbols 301includes information indicating that the AP (101) is performinglong-range communication. For example, the control symbol may includebit c0, in which case, when a short-range communication data symbol isto be transmitted, c0 may be set to “0”, and when a long-rangecommunication data symbol is to be transmitted, c0 may be set to “1”. InFIG. 15, since the AP (101) transmits the long-range communication datasymbols, c0 is set to “1”.

Also, in FIG. 15, the synchronization symbol 1501, the AGC symbol 1502,the control symbol 1503, and the data symbol 1504 are symbols (a symbolgroup) for long-range communication. That is, these long-rangecommunication symbols are symbols for the AP (101) illustrated in FIG. 1to perform transmission to the terminal # A (102). As illustrated inFIG. 15, these long-range communication symbols are transmitted from theAP (101) by using a transmit power at a level with which they can bereceived by at least the terminal # A (102) illustrated in FIG. 1 (i.e.,a transmit power that is equivalent to that of the large-transmit-powersymbols 301).

Since the large-transmit-power symbols 301 are substantially the same asthose described above using FIGS. 6 to 10, expressions (1) to (6), andso on, descriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

Also, the frame structure illustrated in FIG. 15 is one example and mayinclude a symbol other than the symbols illustrated in FIG. 15. Examplesof such a symbol include a pilot symbol (a reference symbol) for areceiving apparatus to estimate a channel change.

[Operation of Each Appliance]

As described above, the frame structures illustrated in FIGS. 3, 5, 13,and 15 include the large-transmit-power symbols 301 or 1301. Thedescription below will be given of an operation when each appliancereceives the large-transmit-power symbols 301.

<Operation of AP (101)>

The AP (101) performs operations (101-1) to (101-3) described below.

Operation (101-1): When the receiver 1403 in the AP (101) cannot detect(receive) the large-transmit-power symbols 301 (i.e., when no appliancetransmits the large-transmit-power symbols 301) in a certain timeperiod, the AP (101) determines that a modulated signal (e.g., see FIG.15) can be transmitted.

Operation (101-2): When the receiver 1403 in the AP (101) detects thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301 in a certain period, demodulates thecontrol symbol (c0) included in the large-transmit-power symbols 301,and determines that the received signal includes a short-rangecommunication data symbol (determines that c0 is 0), the AP (101)determines that a modulated signal (e.g., see FIG. 15) is not to betransmitted. In this case, the AP (101) does not have to perform anoperation for demodulating short-range communication data symbols.

Operation (101-3): When the receiver 1403 in the AP (101) detects thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301 in a certain time period, demodulatesthe control symbol (c0) included in the large-transmit-power symbols301, and determines that the received signal includes a long-rangecommunication data symbol (determines that c0 is 1), the AP (101)determines that a modulated signal (e.g., see FIG. 15) may betransmitted (in a next frame). Upon determining that the long-rangecommunication data symbol is a symbol addressed to the AP (101), the AP(101) demodulates the long-range communication data symbol.

As described above, by using the large-transmit-power symbols 301, theAP (101) determines whether or not an appliance that is performingshort-range communication is present. Upon determining that an appliancethat is performing short-range communication is present, the AP (101)stops transmission of a long-range communication modulated signal so asnot to interfere with other appliances, and upon determining that anappliance that is performing short-range communication is not present,the AP (101) executes transmission of a long-range communicationmodulated signal.

<Operation of Terminal # A (102)>

The terminal # A (102) performs operations (102-1) to (102-3) describedbelow.

Operation (102-1): When the receiver 203 in the terminal # A (102)cannot detect (receive) the large-transmit-power symbols 301 (i.e., whenno appliance transmits the large-transmit-power symbols 301) in acertain time period, the terminal # A (102) determines that a long-rangecommunication modulated signal (e.g., see FIG. 5) can be transmitted.

Operation (102-2): When the receiver 203 in the terminal # A (102)detects the large-transmit-power symbols 301 in a certain period,demodulates the control symbol (c0) included in the large-transmit-powersymbols 301, and determines that the received signal includes ashort-range communication data symbol (determines that c0 is 0), theterminal # A (102) determines that a long-range communication modulatedsignal (e.g., a modulated signal for the AP (101); see FIG. 5) is not tobe transmitted. In this case, the terminal # A (102) does not have toperform an operation for demodulating short-range communication datasymbols.

Operation (102-3): When the receiver 203 in the terminal # A (102)detects the large-transmit-power symbols 301 in a certain time period,demodulates the control symbol (c0) included in the large-transmit-powersymbols 301, and determines that the received signal includes along-range communication data symbol (determines that c0 is 1), theterminal # A (102) determines that a long-range communication modulatedsignal (e.g., a modulated signal for the AP (101); see FIG. 5) may betransmitted (in a next frame). Upon determining that the long-rangecommunication data symbol is a symbol addressed to the terminal # A(102), the terminal # A (102) demodulates the long-range communicationdata symbol.

As described above, by using the large-transmit-power symbols 301, theterminal # A (102) determines whether or not an appliance that isperforming short-range communication is present. Upon determining thatan appliance that is performing short-range communication is present,the terminal # A (102) stops transmission of a long-range communicationmodulated signal so as not to interfere with other appliances, and upondetermining that an appliance that is performing short-rangecommunication is not present, the terminal # A (102) executestransmission of a long-range communication modulated signal.

<Operation of Short-Range Communication AP #1 (103)>

The short-range communication AP #1 (103) performs operations (103-1) to(103-3) described below.

Operation (103-1): When the receiver 1203 in the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) cannot detect (receive) thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301 (i.e., when no appliance transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301) in a certain time period, theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) determines that a modulated signal(e.g., see FIG. 13) can be transmitted.

Operation (103-2): When the receiver 1203 in the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) detects the large-transmit-power symbols 301in a certain period, demodulates the control symbol (c0) included in thelarge-transmit-power symbols 301, and determines that the receivedsignal includes a short-range communication data symbol (determines thatc0 is 0), the short-range communication AP #1 (103) determines that ashort-range communication modulated signal (e.g., see FIG. 13; amodulated signal for the terminal # B (104)) may be transmitted (in anext frame). Upon determining that the short-range communication datasymbol is a symbol addressed to the short-range communication AP #1(103), the short-range communication AP #1 (103) demodulates theshort-range communication data symbol.

Operation (103-3): When the receiver 1203 in the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) detects the large-transmit-power symbols 301in a certain time period, demodulates the control symbol (c0) includedin the large-transmit-power symbols 301, and determines that thereceived signal includes a long-range communication data symbol(determines that c0 is 1), the short-range communication AP #1 (103)determines that a short-range communication modulated signal (e.g., seeFIG. 13; a modulated signal for the terminal # B (104)) is not to betransmitted. In this case, the AP (101) does not have to perform anoperation for demodulating long-range communication data symbols.

As described above, by using the large-transmit-power symbols 301, theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) determines whether or not anappliance that is performing long-range communication is present. Whenthe short-range communication AP #1 (103) determines that an appliancethat is performing long-range communication is present, there is apossibility that interference occurs, and thus the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) stops transmission of a short-rangecommunication modulated signal. Upon determining that an appliance thatis performing long-range communication is not present, the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) executes transmission of a short-rangecommunication modulated signal.

<Operation of Terminal # B (104)>

The terminal # B (104) performs operations (104-1) to (104-3) describedbelow.

Operation (104-1); When the receiver 203 in the terminal # B (104)cannot (receive) detect the large-transmit-power symbols 301 (i.e., whenno appliance transmits the large-transmit-power symbols 301) in acertain time period, the terminal # B (104) determines that a modulatedsignal (e.g., see FIG. 3 or 4) can be transmitted.

Operation (104-2): When the receiver 203 in the terminal # B (104)detects the large-transmit-power symbols 301 in a certain period,demodulates the control symbol (c0) included in the large-transmit-powersymbols 301, and determines that the received signal includes ashort-range communication data symbol (determines that c0 is 0); theterminal # B (104) determines that a short-range communication modulatedsignal (e.g., see FIG. 3 or 4; a modulated signal for the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103)) may be transmitted (in a next frame). Upondetermining that the short-range communication data symbol is a symboladdressed to the terminal # B (104); the terminal # B (104) demodulatesthe short-range communication data symbol.

Operation (104-3); When the receiver 203 in the terminal # B (104)detects the large-transmit-power symbols 301 in a certain time period,demodulates the control symbol (c0) included in the large-transmit-powersymbols 301, and determines that the received signal includes along-range communication data symbol (determines that c0 is 1), theterminal # B (104) determines that a short-range communication modulatedsignal (e.g.; see FIG. 3 or 4; a modulated signal for the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103)) is not to be transmitted. In this case, theterminal # B (104) does not have to perform an operation fordemodulating long-range communication data symbols.

As described above; by using the large-transmit-power symbols 301; theterminal # B (104) determines whether or not an appliance that isperforming long-range communication is present. When the terminal # B(104) determines that an appliance that is performing long-rangecommunication is present, there is a possibility that interferenceoccurs, and thus the terminal # B (104) stops transmission of ashort-range communication modulated signal. Upon determining that anappliance that is performing long-range communication is not present,the terminal # B (104) executes transmission of a short-rangecommunication modulated signal.

The above description has been given of an operation when each appliancereceives the large-transmit-power symbols 301.

As described above, each of the appliances (e.g., the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) and the terminal # B (104) in FIG. 1) thatperform short-range communication transmits large-transmit-power symbols(a control symbol) that are also to arrive at appliances (e.g., the AP(101) and the terminal # A (102) illustrated in FIG. 1) that performslong-range communication.

Each of communication apparatuses (the AP and the terminal) that performlong-range communication receives the modulated signals transmitted fromany of the communication apparatuses (the short-range communication APand the terminal) that perform short-range communication. Thecommunication apparatus that performs long-range communication stops thelong-range communication when the received modulated signal includes alarge-transmit-power symbol, and executes the long-range communicationwhen the received modulated signal does not include alarge-transmit-power symbol.

That is, by transmitting the large-transmit-power symbols, the appliancethat performs short-range communication issues, to the appliance thatperforms long-range communication, a notification indicating thatshort-range communication is to be performed. That is, the appliancethat performs short-range communication reserves transmission resourcesfor short-range communication, by transmitting large-transmit-powersymbols. This allows the appliance that performs long-rangecommunication to determine whether or not an appliance that performsshort-range communication is present. Then, upon determining that anappliance that performs short-range communication is present, theappliance that performs long-range communication performs transmissioncontrol so as not to cause interference. This provides an advantage thatit is possible to perform data communication with high reliability.Hence, according to the present embodiment, even when short-rangecommunication and long-range communication are made to co-exist at thesame frequency (in frequency bands that at least partially overlap eachother), it is possible to suppress a reduction in the data transmissioncapacity.

[Data Transmission Efficiency]

Next, a description will be given of a communication method for furtherimproving the data transmission efficiency.

First, a description will be given of problems about the datatransmission efficiency.

As described above, an appliance that performs short-range communicationtransmits a large-transmit-power (control) symbol that is also to arriveat an appliance that performs long-range communication. This allows theappliance that performs long-range communication to determine whether ornot an appliance that performs short-range communication is present.Upon determining that an appliance that performs short-rangecommunication is present, the appliance that performs long-rangecommunication performs operation control so as not to cause interference(i.e., determines that no modulated signal is to be transmitted).

In this case, if another short-range communication appliance alsoreceives the large-transmit-power (control) symbol transmitted by theappliance that performs short-range communication and stops transmissionof a short-range communication modulated signal, the data transmissionefficiency in the system decreases significantly.

Now, consider a case in which short-range communication and long-rangecommunication co-exist at the same frequency (frequency band), asillustrated in FIG. 16, by way of example.

In FIG. 16, appliances that perform substantially the same operations asthose in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numbers. FIG. 16illustrates a configuration in which a short-range communication AP #2(105), a short-range communication AP #3 (107), a terminal # C (106),and a terminal D (108) are further added to the configurationillustrated in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 16, a communication partner of the AP (101) is the terminal # A(102), a communication partner of the short-range communication AP #1(103) is the terminal # B (104), a communication partner of theshort-range communication AP #2 (105) is the terminal # C (106), and acommunication partner of the short-range communication AP #3 (107) isthe terminal D (108).

Now, consider a case in which the terminal # B (104) and the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) communicate with each other.

In this case, as described above, each of the terminal # B (104) and theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits large-transmit-powersymbols and short-range communication symbols (e.g., see FIGS. 3 and13).

In this case, when the AP (101), the terminal # A (102), the short-rangecommunication AP #2 (105), the terminal # C (106), the short-rangecommunication AP #3 (107), or the terminal # D (108) transmits amodulated signal in a time period in which the terminal # B (104) or theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits a modulated signalincluding large-transmit-power symbols, the modulated signals interferewith each other. Consequently, the data reception quality decreases, andthus, when the data transmission efficiency is considered, there is ahigh possibility that it is desirable not to transmit a modulated signalin the time period in which the modulated signal including thelarge-transmit-power symbols is transmitted.

Also, even when the short-range communication AP #2 (105), the terminal# C (106), the short-range communication AP #3 (107), or the terminal #D (108) transmits a short-range communication symbol in a time period inwhich the terminal # B (104) and the short-range communication AP #1(103) are transmitting other short-range communication symbols, thepossibility that the modulated signals interfere with each other is low,when the spatial distance reached by the short-range communicationsymbols is considered.

Thus, there is a high possibility that when data is efficientlytransmitted using the time period in which the short-range communicationsymbol is present, the data transmission efficiency in the communicationsystem can be improved.

A communication method for improving the data transmission efficiency inthe communication system will be described below in detail.

The communication state of each appliance after the terminal # B (104)and the short-range communication AP #1 (103) start communicating witheach other will now be described as one example with reference to FIG.17.

In FIG. 17, FIG. 17(A) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the terminal # B (104) illustrated inFIG. 16, FIG. 17(B) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the short-range communication AP #1(103) illustrated in FIG. 16, FIG. 17(C) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the terminal # C (106)illustrated in FIG. 16, and FIG. 17(D) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the short-rangecommunication AP #2 (105) illustrated in FIG. 16.

In FIGS. 17(A) to 17(D), the horizontal axis represents time, and thevertical axis represents a transmit power.

Also, in FIG. 17, the terminal # B (104) is assumed to be a terminalthat can transmit both a short-range communication modulated signal anda long-range communication modulated signal (e.g., see FIG. 3).

Also, in FIG. 17, the terminal # B (104), the short-range communicationAP #1 (103), the terminal # C (106), and the short-range communicationAP #2 (105) transmit modulated signals by using the same frequency(frequency band).

As illustrated in FIG. 17(A), the terminal # B (104) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1701 in a time period (time period) t1 andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 1702 in a time period t2.

As illustrated in FIG. 17(B), the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 1703 in a time period t3 andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 1704 in a time period t4.In addition, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1705 in a time period t5 and transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1706 in a time period t7. Additionally,the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1707 in a time period t8, transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1708 in a time period t10, transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1709 in a time period t11, and transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1710 in a time period t13.

As illustrated in FIG. 17(C), the terminal # C (106) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1711 in a time period t6 and transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1712 in the time period t7.

As illustrated in FIG. 17(D), the short-range communication AP #2 (105)transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 1713 in a time period t9,transmits a short-range communication symbol 1714 in the time periodt10, transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 1715 in a time period t12,and transmits a short-range communication symbol 1716 in the time periodt13.

Since the relationships between the large-transmit-power symbols and theshort-range communication symbols in FIGS. 17(A) to 17(D) aresubstantially the same as those described above using FIGS. 6 to 10,expressions (1) to (6), and so on, descriptions thereof are not givenhereinafter.

A characteristic point in FIG. 17 will be described below.

In the time period t7, the short-range communication AP #1 and theterminal # C transmit the short-range communication symbols 1706 and1712, respectively; in the time period t10, the short-rangecommunication APs #1 and #2 transmit the short-range communicationsymbols 1708 and 1714, respectively; and in the time period t13, theshort-range communication APs #1 and #2 transmit the short-rangecommunication symbols 1710 and 1716, respectively.

That is, in FIG. 17, in the same time periods (t7, t10, and t13), theplurality of appliances transmit the short-range communication symbols.As described above, even when the terminal # C and the short-rangecommunication AP #2 transmit short-range communication symbols in a timeperiod in which the terminal # B and the short-range communication AP #1are performing short-range communication, the possibility that themodulated signals interfere with each other is low, when the spatialdistance reached by the short-range communication symbols is considered.

Thus, since a plurality of appliances can simultaneously transmitshort-range communication symbols at the same frequency (frequency band)and in the same time period, it is possible to obtain an advantage inthat the data transmission efficiency in the system improves.

Another characteristic point in FIG. 17 will be described next.

In FIG. 17, control is performed so that a plurality oflarge-transmit-power symbols are not transmitted in the same timeperiod.

For example, in FIG. 17, time intervals (the time periods t5 and t6) fortime-dividing two or more short-range communication symbols existbetween the short-range communication symbol 1704 and the short-rangecommunication symbol 1706. In other words, time intervals (guardsections) in which two or more sets of large-transmit-power symbols canbe arranged without overlapping in a time domain exist between theshort-range communication symbol 1704 and the short-range communicationsymbol 1706. For example, the frame structure between the short-rangecommunication symbol 1704 and the short-range communication symbol 1706is such that two sets of large-transmit-power symbols can betransmitted.

This allows two or more appliances to transmit large-transmit-powersymbols between the short-range communication symbol 1704 and theshort-range communication symbol 1706. For example, in FIG. 17, in thetime period t5, the short-range communication AP #1 transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbol 1705 between the short-range communicationsymbol 1704 and the short-range communication symbol 1706, and in thetime period t6, the terminal # C transmits the large-transmit-powersymbol 1711 between the short-range communication symbol 1704 and theshort-range communication symbol 1706. That is, the short-rangecommunication AP #1 and the terminal # C transmit respectivelarge-transmit-power symbols without interference.

That is, a plurality of time segments in which a certain number (two inFIG. 17) of large-transmit-power symbols can be transmitted are providedbetween adjacent time segments in which short-range communicationsymbols are transmitted. The plurality of large-transmit-power symbolstransmitted from the respective communication apparatuses (the terminaland the short-range communication AP) that perform short-rangecommunication are transmitted in different time segments in theplurality of time segments.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, when appliances transmit large-transmit-powersymbols without overlapping each other in a time domain, a larger numberof appliances can receive the large-transmit-power symbols, thus makingit possible to reduce the possibility that each appliance transmits amodulated signal that can cause interference. This makes it possible toobtain an advantage in that the data transmission efficiency in thesystem improves.

Also, as illustrated in FIGS. 17(A) to 17(D), the large-transmit-powersymbols are transmitted from communication apparatuses (the short-rangecommunication AP and the terminal) that transmit short-rangecommunication symbols. In this case, the AP 101 and the terminal # A(102) illustrated in FIG. 16 receive, for example, large-transmit-powersymbols transmitted by the appliances illustrated in FIG. 17 anddetermine that long-range communication symbols are not to betransmitted in the time periods t1 to t13 illustrated in FIG. 17.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication methodfor improving the data transmission efficiency in the communicationsystem, the example being different from that in FIG. 17. In FIG. 18,operations that are substantially the same as those in FIG. 17 aredenoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are notgiven hereinafter.

Specifically, the terminal # B (104) in FIG. 17 is a terminal that cantransmit both a short-range communication modulated signal and along-range communication modulated signal, whereas the terminal # B(104) in FIG. 18 is a terminal (e.g., see FIG. 4) that can transmit onlya short-range communication modulated signal.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 18(A), the terminal # B does nottransmit a large-transmit-power symbol in the time period t1 andtransmits only the short-range communication symbol 1702 in the timeperiod t2.

In FIG. 18, the plurality of appliances transmit the short-rangecommunication symbols in the same time periods (t7, t10, and t13), as inFIG. 17. Thus, since a plurality of appliances can simultaneouslytransmit short-range communication symbols at the same frequency(frequency band) and in the same time period, it is possible to obtainan advantage in that the data transmission efficiency in the systemimproves.

In FIG. 18, control is performed so that a plurality oflarge-transmit-power symbols are not transmitted in the same timeperiod, as in FIG. 17. As illustrated in FIG. 18, when appliancestransmit large-transmit-power symbols without overlapping each other ina time domain, a larger number of appliances can receive thelarge-transmit-power symbols, thus making it possible to reduce thepossibility that each appliance transmits a modulated signal that cancause interference. This makes it possible to obtain an advantage inthat the data transmission efficiency in the system improves.

An example in which a plurality of appliances transmit short-rangecommunication symbols is not limited to FIGS. 17 and 18. For example,two short-range communication APs may transmit short-range communicationsymbols in the same time period, two terminals may transmit short-rangecommunication symbols in the same time period, or a short-rangecommunication AP and a terminal may transmit short-range communicationsymbols in the same time period. Also, the number of appliances thattransmit short-range communication symbols in the same time period maybe three or more. As described above, by receiving and demodulating alarge-transmit-power symbol and making a determination, each appliancedetermines whether or not a short-range communication symbol is to betransmitted.

Although the short-range communication symbols 1706 and 1712 exist inthe time period t7 illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18, for example, theframe structure may be such that the short-range communication symbol1706 exists throughout the time period t7 and the short-rangecommunication symbol 1712 exists throughout a time interval that isincluded in the range of the time period t7 and that is shorter than thetime interval of the short-range communication symbol 1706. That is, atime resource occupied by the short-range communication symbol 1706 anda time resource occupied by the short-range communication symbol 1712 donot necessarily have to be the same. In other words, the time intervalused by the short-range communication symbol 1706 and the time intervalused by the short-range communication symbol 1712 do not necessarilyhave to be the same. In this respect, a similar structure may also beused when a plurality of short-range communication symbols exist at thesame time.

Second Embodiment

The description in the first embodiment has been given of a case inwhich, as illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18, a plurality of appliancestransmit large-transmit-power symbols between adjacent two short-rangecommunication symbols so that the large-transmit-power symbols do notoverlap each other in a time domain.

In contrast, a description in the present embodiment will be given of acase in which only one of a plurality of appliances transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol between adjacent two short-rangecommunication symbols.

Since the appliances according to the present embodiment have basicconfigurations that are the same as or similar to those of theappliances according to the first embodiment, a description will begiven using FIGS. 2, 12, and 14. One example of a communication systemaccording to the present embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 16 used in the first embodiment.

The communication state of each appliance after the terminal # B (104)and the short-range communication AP #1 (103) start communicating witheach other will now be described as one example with reference to FIG.19.

In FIG. 19, FIG. 19(A) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the terminal # B (104) illustrated inFIG. 16, FIG. 19(B) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the short-range communication AP #1(103) illustrated in FIG. 16, FIG. 19(C) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the terminal # C (106)illustrated in FIG. 16, and FIG. 19(D) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the short-rangecommunication AP #2 (105) illustrated in FIG. 16.

In FIGS. 19(A) to 19(D), the horizontal axis represents time, and thevertical axis represents a transmit power.

Also, in FIG. 19, the terminal # B (104) is assumed to be a terminalthat can transmit both a short-range communication modulated signal anda long-range communication modulated signal (e.g., see FIG. 3).

Also, in FIG. 19, the terminal # B (104), the short-range communicationAP #1 (103), the terminal # C (106), and the short-range communicationAP #2 (105) transmit modulated signals by using the same frequency(frequency band).

As illustrated in FIG. 19(A), the terminal # B (104) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1901 in a time period t1 and transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1902 in a time period t2.

As illustrated in FIG. 19(B), the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 1903 in a time period t3 andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 1904 in a time period t4.In addition, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1905 in a time period t5, transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1906 in a time period t6, transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1907 in a time period t7, and transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1908 in a time period t8. Additionally,the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 1909 in a time period t9 and transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1910 in a time period t10.

As illustrated in FIG. 19(C), the terminal # C (106) transmits ashort-range communication symbol 1911 in the time period t8.

As illustrated in FIG. 19(D), the short-range communication AP #2 (105)transmits a short-range communication symbol 1912 in the time periodt10, transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 1913 in a time period t11,transmits a short-range communication symbol 1914 in a time period t12,transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 1915 in a time period t13, andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 1916 in a time period t14.

Since the relationships between the large-transmit-power symbols and theshort-range communication symbols in FIGS. 19(A) to 19(D) aresubstantially the same as those described above using FIGS. 6 to 10,expressions (1) to (6), and so on, descriptions thereof are not givenhereinafter.

A characteristic point in FIG. 19 will be described below.

In the time period t8, the short-range communication AP #1 and theterminal # C transmit the short-range communication symbols 1908 and1911, respectively; and in the time period t10, the short-rangecommunication APs #1 and #2 transmit the short-range communicationsymbols 1910 and 1912, respectively.

That is, in FIG. 19, the plurality of appliances transmit theshort-range communication symbols in the same time periods (t8 and t10).As described above in the first embodiment, even when the terminal # Cand the short-range communication AP #2 transmit short-rangecommunication symbols in a time period in which the terminal # B and theshort-range communication AP #1 are performing short-rangecommunication, the possibility that the modulated signals interfere witheach other is low, when the spatial distance reached by the short-rangecommunication symbols is considered.

Thus, as in the first embodiment, since a plurality of appliances cansimultaneously transmit short-range communication symbols at the samefrequency (frequency band) and at the same time, it is possible toobtain an advantage in that the data transmission efficiency in thesystem improves.

Another characteristic point in FIG. 19 will be described next.

In FIG. 19, control is performed so that a plurality oflarge-transmit-power symbols do not exist in the same time period.

Specifically, in FIG. 19, a single time segment in which onelarge-transmit-power symbol can be transmitted is provided betweenadjacent time segments in which short-range communication symbols aretransmitted. Then, in the single time segment, a large-transmit-powersymbol is transmitted from one of the communication apparatuses (theterminal and the short-range communication AP) that perform short-rangecommunication.

For example, in FIG. 19, only the large-transmit-power symbols 1903,1905, 1907, and 1909 transmitted from the short-range communication AP#1 exist in the time periods t3, t5, t7, and t9. Also, in FIG. 19, onlythe large-transmit-power symbols 1913 and 1915 transmitted from theshort-range communication AP #2 exist in the time periods t11 and t13.

That is, in the time periods t3, t5, t7, t9, t11, and t13 illustrated inFIG. 19, only one of the plurality of appliances that performshort-range communication transmits a large-transmit-power symbol. Thismakes it possible to avoid a plurality of large-transmit-power symbolsinterfering with each other and allows a larger number of appliances toreceive large-transmit-power symbols. Thus, it is possible to reduce thepossibility that each appliance transmits a modulated signal that cancause interference. This makes it possible to obtain an advantage inthat the data transmission efficiency in the system improves.

More specifically, the purpose of transmitting the large-transmit-powersymbol is to notify, for example, the AP (101), the terminal # A (102),the short-range communication AP #1 (103), the terminal # B (104), theshort-range communication AP #2 (105), the terminal # C (106), theshort-range communication AP #3 (107), and the terminal # D (108) inFIG. 16 as to whether each appliance is performing short-rangecommunication or long-range communication, as described in the firstembodiment.

That is, it is sufficient that a notification indicating thatshort-range communication is being performed in the time periods t1 tot14 illustrated in FIG. 19 be issued to the AP (101) and the terminal #A (102).

Hence, it is sufficient that the large-transmit-power symbol for givinga notification indicating that short-range communication is beingperformed in a certain time period be transmitted from at least one of aplurality of appliances that perform short-range communication, asillustrated in FIG. 19.

For example, in FIG. 19, in a state in which neither short-rangecommunication nor long-range communication is performed, first, theterminal # B (104) performs short-range communication. That is, theterminal # B (104) transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 1901 andthe short-range communication symbol 1902 to the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103) that is a communication partner. In this case,the AP (101) and the terminal # A (102) detect the large-transmit-powersymbol 1901 in the time period t1 to thereby stop transmission oflong-range communication symbols. Thus, the time segment of the timeperiods t1 and t2 is allocated (reserved) as a segment for short-rangecommunication.

Next, after receiving the large-transmit-power symbol 1901 and theshort-range communication symbol 1902, the short-range communication AP#1 (103) transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 1903 in the timeperiod t3 and transmits the short-range communication symbol 1904 in thetime period t4. In addition, the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 1905 in the time period t5,transmits the short-range communication symbol 1906 in the time periodt6, transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 1907 in the time periodt7, and transmits the short-range communication symbol 1908 in the timeperiod t8. Additionally, the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 1909 in the time period t9 andtransmits the short-range communication symbol 1910 in the time periodt10.

In this case, the AP (101) and the terminal # A (102) detect thelarge-transmit-power symbols 1903, 1905, 1907, and 1909 in the timeperiods t3, t5, t7, and t9 to thereby stop transmission of long-rangecommunication symbols. In this manner, the time segment of the timeperiods t3 to t10 is allocated (reserved) as a segment for short-rangecommunication.

In this case, it is assumed that the terminal # C (106) enters a statein which it needs to transmit the short-range communication symbol 1911in the time period t8.

At this point in time, since the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits the large-transmit-power symbols in the time periods t3 tot10, the terminal # C (106) does not transmit a large-transmit-powersymbol in the time period t7.

Also, since the time periods t3 to t10 are already allocated as a datatransmission segment for short-range communication (i.e., as a segmentin which the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits short-rangecommunication data), the terminal # C (106) transmits the short-rangecommunication symbol 1911 in the time period t8.

That is, it is assumed that, in order to transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol, any (which is assumed to be an “appliance #1”, byway of example) of the appliances has reserved a time segment # A bytransmitting a large-transmit-power symbol. In this case, anotherappliance (which is assumed to be an “appliance #2”, by way of example)recognizes that the appliance #1 is transmitting thelarge-transmit-power symbol. A structure example of thelarge-transmit-power symbol in this case is described later.Subsequently, when the appliance #2 needs to transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol in the time segment # A, the appliance #2 transmitsthe short-range communication symbol without transmitting alarge-transmit-power symbol.

Similarly, in FIG. 19, the short-range communication AP #2 (105)receives the short-range communication symbol 1911, transmits theshort-range communication symbol 1912 in the time period t10, transmitsthe large-transmit-power symbol 1913 in the time period t11, transmitsthe short-range communication symbol 1914 in the time period t12,transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 1915 in the time period t13,and transmits the short-range communication symbol 1916 in the timeperiod t14.

In this case, since the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmitsthe large-transmit-power symbols in the segment of the time periods t3to t10, the short-range communication AP #2 (105) does not transmit alarge-transmit-power symbol in the time period t9.

Also, since the time periods t3 to t10 are already allocated as a datatransmission segment for short-range communication (i.e., as a segmentin which the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits short-rangecommunication data), the short-range communication AP #2 (105) transmitsthe short-range communication symbol 1912 in the time period t10.

Also, it is assumed that, in the time periods t11 to t14 illustrated inFIG. 19, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) and the terminal # B(104) do not transmit a modulated signal, and appliances other than theshort-range communication AP #2 (105) do not transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol. In this case, the short-range communication AP #2(105) transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 1913 in the time periodt11. In this case, the AP (101) and the terminal # A (102) detect thelarge-transmit-power symbol 1901 in the time period t11 to thereby stoptransmission of long-range communication symbols. Thus, the time segmentof the time periods t11 and t12 is allocated (reserved) as a segment forshort-range communication.

That is, an appliance that is to transmit a short-range communicationsymbol determines whether or not a large-transmit-power symboltransmitted from another appliance is present, and then determines thata large-transmit-power symbol is to be transmitted, when alarge-transmit-power symbol from another appliance is not present.

In FIG. 19, the short-range communication AP #2 (105) transmits theshort-range communication symbol 1914 in the time period t12, transmitsthe large-transmit-power symbol 1915 in the time period t13, and thentransmits the short-range communication symbol 1916 in the time periodt14.

In order to realize the operations of the appliances illustrated in FIG.19, for example, it is necessary that the large-transmit-power symbol1909 that the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits in thetime period t9 be recognized by other appliances as the lastlarge-transmit-power symbol that is to be transmitted when theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits the series ofshort-range communication symbols (1904, 1906, 1908, and 1910).

Accordingly, for example, during transmission of the series ofshort-range communication symbols, the large-transmit-power symbol 1909may include information indicating that it is the lastlarge-transmit-power symbol to be transmitted.

Also, another possible method is a method in which alarge-transmit-power symbol includes information indicating the numberof frames to be transmitted and information indicating the number of aframe that is currently transmitted. For instance, the symbolstransmitted by the short-range communication AP #1 illustrated in FIG.19(B) will now be described by way of example.

In this case, in FIG. 19(B), a segment in which the large-transmit-powersymbol 1903 and the short-range communication symbol 1904 aretransmitted is referred to as a “first frame”, a segment in which thelarge-transmit-power symbol 1905 and the short-range communicationsymbol 1906 are transmitted is referred to as a “second frame”, asegment in which the large-transmit-power symbol 1907 and theshort-range communication symbol 1908 is transmitted is referred to as a“third frame”, and a segment in which the large-transmit-power symbol1909 and the short-range communication symbol 1910 are transmitted isreferred to as a “fourth frame”.

In this case, the large-transmit-power symbol 1903 includes informationindicating that the number of frames to be transmitted is “4” andinformation indicating that the number of a frame that is beingtransmitted is “1”. The large-transmit-power symbol 1905 also includesinformation indicating that the number of frames to be transmitted is“4” and information indicating that the number of a frame that is beingtransmitted is “2”. Similarly, the large-transmit-power symbol 1907includes information indicating that the number of frames to betransmitted is “4” and information indicating that the number of a framethat is being transmitted is “3”, and the large-transmit-power symbol1909 includes information indicating that the number of frames to betransmitted is “4” and information indicating that the number of a framethat is being transmitted is “4”.

Other appliances receive such a large-transmit-power symbol includinginformation indicating the number of frames to be transmitted andinformation indicating the number of each frame.

With this processing, for example, the terminal # C (106) receives thelarge-transmit-power symbol transmitted by the short-range communicationAP #1 (103) in the time period t3 or t5 and refers to the informationincluded in the received large-transmit-power symbol to therebyrecognize that short-range communication symbols are to be transmittedfrom the short-range communication AP #1 (103) in the time periods t3 tot10. Thus, the terminal # C (106) transmits the short-rangecommunication symbol 1911 in the time period t8 without transmitting alarge-transmit-power symbol in the time period t7.

Similarly, the short-range communication AP #2 (105) receives thelarge-transmit-power symbol transmitted by the short-range communicationAP #1 (103) in the time periods t3, t5, or t7 and refers to theinformation included in the large-transmit-power symbol to therebyrecognize that short-range communication symbols are to be transmittedfrom the short-range communication AP #1 (103) in the time period t3 tot10. Thus, the short-range communication AP #2 (105) transmits theshort-range communication symbol 1912 in the time period t10 withouttransmitting a large-transmit-power symbol in the time period t9. Also,the short-range communication AP #2 (105) transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbol 1913 in the time period t11 and transmitsthe short-range communication symbol 1914 in the time period t12.Similarly, the short-range communication AP #2 (105) transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbol 1915 in the time period t13 and transmitsthe short-range communication symbol 1916 in the time period t14.

As described above, in the present embodiment, only one of the pluralityof appliances that perform short-range communication transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol in each frame. With this arrangement, a timesegment provided for transmitting a large-transmit-power symbol can beminimized in each frame.

For example, in the first embodiment (e.g., see FIGS. 17 and 18), a timesegment for transmitting two large-transmit-power symbols is providedbetween two adjacent short-range communication symbols. In contrast, inthe present embodiment (e.g., see FIG. 19), it is sufficient that a timesegment for transmitting one large-transmit-power symbol be providedbetween two short-range communication symbols.

Thus, since, in the present embodiment, a larger amount of resourcesthat can be allocated to short-range communication symbols can bereserved, compared with the first embodiment, thus making it possible toobtain an advantage of increasing the throughput.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of the communication methodaccording to the present embodiment, the example being different fromthat in FIG. 19. In FIG. 20, operations that are substantially the sameas those in FIG. 19 are denoted by the same reference numerals, anddescriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

Specifically, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbol 1915 and the short-range communicationsymbol 1916 in the time periods t13 and t14 in FIG. 19, whereas theterminal # C (106) transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2013 and ashort-range communication symbol 2014 in the time periods t13 and t14 inFIG. 20.

In FIG. 20, in the time periods t1, t3, t5, t7, t9, t11, and t13, onlyone of the plurality of appliances that perform short-rangecommunication transmits a large-transmit-power symbol, as in FIG. 19.This makes it possible to avoid a plurality of large-transmit-powersymbols interfering with each other and allows a larger number ofappliances to receive large-transmit-power symbols. Thus, it is possibleto reduce the possibility that each appliance transmits a modulatedsignal that can cause interference. This makes it possible to obtain anadvantage in that the data transmission efficiency in the systemimproves. It is also possible to minimize the time segment fortransmitting large-transmit-power symbols, and it is possible to reservea larger amount of resources that can be allocated to short-rangecommunication symbols, thus making it possible to obtain an advantage ofincreasing the throughput, as in FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example of the communication methodaccording to the present embodiment, the example being different fromthat illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20. In FIG. 21, operations that aresubstantially the same as those in FIG. 19 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and descriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

Specifically, the terminal # B (104) in FIG. 19 is a terminal that cantransmit both a short-range communication modulated signal and along-range communication modulated signal, whereas the terminal # B(104) in FIG. 21 is a terminal (e.g., see FIG. 4) that can transmit onlya short-range communication modulated signal.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 21(A), in a state in which neithershort-range communication nor long-range communication is performed, theterminal # B transmits only the short-range communication symbol 1902 inthe time period t2 without transmitting a large-transmit-power symbol inthe time period t1.

In FIG. 21, in the time periods t3, t5, t7, t9, t11, and t13, only oneof the plurality of appliances that perform short-range communicationtransmits a large-transmit-power symbol. This makes it possible to avoida plurality of large-transmit-power symbols interfering with each otherand allows a larger number of appliances to receive large-transmit-powersymbols. Thus, it is possible to reduce the possibility that eachappliance transmits a modulated signal that can cause interference. Thismakes it possible to obtain an advantage in that the data transmissionefficiency in the system improves. It is also possible to minimize thetime segment for transmitting large-transmit-power symbols, and it ispossible to reserve a larger amount of resources that can be allocatedto short-range communication symbols, thus making it possible to obtainan advantage of increasing the throughput, as in FIG. 19.

FIG. 22 illustrates one example of the communication method according tothe present embodiment, the example being different from thatillustrated in FIGS. 19 to 21. In FIG. 22, operations that aresubstantially the same as those in FIG. 19 are denoted by the samereference numerals, and descriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

Each of the terminal # B (104) and the terminal # C (106) in FIG. 19 isa terminal that can transmit both a short-range communication modulatedsignal and a long-range communication modulated signal, whereas each ofthe terminal # B (104) and the terminal # C (106) in FIG. 22 is aterminal (e.g., see FIG. 4) that can transmit only a short-rangecommunication modulated signal.

In addition, a different point is that the short-range communication AP#1 (103) in FIG. 19 transmits the modulated signals in time periods t3to t10, whereas the short-range communication AP #1 (103) in FIG. 22transmits modulated signals in the time periods t3 to t8.

In addition, another different point is that, in FIG. 19, theshort-range communication AP #2 (105) transmits the large-transmit-powersymbol 1913 and the short-range communication symbol 1914 in the timeperiods t11 and t12, whereas in FIG. 22, the terminal # C (106)transmits a short-range communication symbol in the time period t11.

Specifically, after the time period t9 illustrated in FIG. 22, theterminal # C (106) transmits a short-range communication symbol 2211 inthe time period t11, as illustrated in FIG. 22(C). Also, as illustratedin FIG. 22(D), the short-range communication AP #2 (105) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 2209 in the time period t9, transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2210 in the time period t10, transmitsa large-transmit-power symbol 2212 in the time period t12, and transmitsa short-range communication symbol 2213 in the time period t13.

In this case, the reason why the terminal # C (106) does not transmit alarge-transmit-power symbol at a timing immediately before the timeperiod t11, as illustrated in FIG. 22(C), is that the terminal # C doesnot support long-range communication.

In FIG. 22, in the time periods t3, t5, t7, t9, and t12, one of theplurality of short-range communication APs transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol. This makes it possible to avoid a pluralityof large-transmit-power symbols interfering with each other and allows alarger number of appliances to receive large-transmit-power symbols.Thus, it is possible to reduce the possibility that each appliancetransmits a modulated signal that can cause interference. This makes itpossible to obtain an advantage in that the data transmission efficiencyin the system improves. It is also possible to minimize the time segmentfor transmitting large-transmit-power symbols, and it is possible toreserve a larger amount of resources that can be allocated toshort-range communication symbols, thus making it possible to obtain anadvantage of increasing the throughput.

An example in which a plurality of appliances transmit short-rangecommunication symbols is not limited to FIGS. 19 to 22. For example, twoshort-range communication APs may transmit short-range communicationsymbols in the same time period, two terminals may transmit short-rangecommunication symbols at the same time, or a short-range communicationAP and a terminal may transmit short-range communication symbols in thesame time period. Also, the number of appliances that transmitshort-range communication symbols in the same time period may be threeor more. As described above, by receiving and demodulating alarge-transmit-power symbol and making a determination, each appliancedetermines whether or not a short-range communication symbol is to betransmitted.

Also, although the short-range communication symbols 1908 and 1911 existin the time period t8 illustrated in FIGS. 19 to 22, for example, theframe structure may be such that the short-range communication symbol1908 exists throughout the time period t8 and the short-rangecommunication symbol 1911 having a shorter time interval than that ofthe short-range communication symbol 1908 exists in the range of thetime period t8. That is, a time resource occupied by the short-rangecommunication symbol 1908 and a time resource occupied by theshort-range communication symbol 1911 do not necessarily have to be thesame. In other words, the time interval used by the short-rangecommunication symbol 1908 and the time interval used by the short-rangecommunication symbol 1911 do not necessarily have to be the same. Inthis respect, a similar structure may also be used when a plurality ofshort-range communication symbols exist at the same time.

Third Embodiment

Since the appliances according to the present embodiment have basicconfigurations that are the same as or similar to those of theappliances according to the first embodiment, a description will begiven using FIGS. 2, 12, and 14. One example of a communication systemaccording to the present embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 16 used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 23 illustrates one example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the terminal # B (104) that supports short-rangecommunication. In FIG. 23, the horizontal axis represents time, and thevertical axis represents a transmit power.

In FIG. 23, symbols 2301, 2302, 2303, and 2304 are short-rangecommunication symbols. That is, the terminal # B (104) transmitsshort-range communication symbols throughout time segments for thesymbols 2301 to 2304.

Now, it is assumed that, at a time point T illustrated in FIG. 23, itbecomes necessary for the terminal # A (102) or the AP (101) to transmita long-range communication symbol. In this case, it is assumed that theterminal # A (102) and the AP (101) monitor a radio wave situationduring a period of time U, as illustrated in FIG. 23, and transmitlong-range communication symbols, since no large-transmit-power symbolexists.

In this case, there is a high possibility that the reception quality ofdata of the short-range communication symbol 2303 deteriorates in theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) owing interference of thelong-range communication symbols. In order to avoid the deterioration ofthe reception quality, for example, there is a method in which theperiod of time U in which the terminal # A (102) and the AP (101)monitor the radio wave situation is set to be long. With this method,however, time resources are not efficiently utilized when no short-rangecommunication is performed in the period of time U.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, a description will be given of amethod for avoiding deterioration of the reception quality and areduction in the resource use efficiency in short-range communication,the deterioration and the reduction being caused by long-rangecommunication symbols.

First, a communication method when the terminal # B (104) supports onlyshort-range communication (i.e., does not support long-rangecommunication) will be described with reference to FIG. 24.

In FIG. 24, FIG. 24(A) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the terminal # B (104), and FIG. 24(B)illustrates one example frame structure of a modulated signaltransmitted by the short-range communication AP #1 (103) that is acommunication partner of the terminal # B (104). In FIGS. 24(A) and24(B), the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axisrepresents a transmit power. In FIG. 24, structures that are the same asor similar to those in FIG. 23 are denoted by the same referencenumbers.

First, in a time period t1, the terminal # B (104) transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2301. The short-range communication AP#1 (103) then receives the short-range communication symbol 2301 toobtain data (information) for short-range communication and alsorecognizes that the terminal # B (104) is to transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol also in and after a time period t3.

Accordingly, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 2402 in a time period t2 between the timesegment in which the short-range communication symbol 2301 istransmitted and the time segment in which a short-range communicationsymbol 2302 is transmitted.

Similarly, in the time period t3, the terminal # B (104) transmits theshort-range communication symbol 2302. The short-range communication AP#1 (103) then receives the short-range communication symbol 2302 toobtain data (information) for short-range communication and alsorecognizes that the terminal # B (104) is transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol also in and after a time period t5.

Accordingly, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 2403 in a time period t4 between the timesegment in which the short-range communication symbol 2302 istransmitted and the time segment in which the short-range communicationsymbol 2303 is transmitted.

Also, in the time period t5, the terminal # B (104) transmits theshort-range communication symbol 2303. The short-range communication AP#1 (103) then receives the short-range communication symbol 2303 toobtain data (information) for short-range communication and alsorecognizes that the terminal # B (104) is to transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol also in and after a time period t7.

Accordingly, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol 2404 in a time period t6 between the timesegment in which the short-range communication symbol 2303 istransmitted and the time segment in which the short-range communicationsymbol 2304 is transmitted.

Since the large-transmit-power symbols and the short-range communicationsymbols in FIG. 24 are substantially the same as those described in thefirst embodiment by using FIGS. 6 to 10, expressions (1) to (6), and soon, descriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

As described above, a large-transmit-power symbol, which is nottransmitted from a terminal that performs short-range communication, isinstead transmitted from a short-range communication AP that is acommunication partner. That is, when a terminal that supports onlyshort-range communication transmits a short-range communication symbol,a large-transmit-power symbol is transmitted from a short-rangecommunication AP that is a communication partner of the terminal.

As a result, even when the terminal continuously transmits a series ofshort-range communication symbols, and the period of time occupied bythe short-range communication symbols increases, a large-transmit-powersymbol transmitted by the short-range communication AP exists betweenthe short-range communication symbols transmitted by the terminal.

In a time segment occupied by short-range communication symbolstransmitted from a terminal, appliances (the AP (101) and the terminal #A (102)) that perform long-range communication detects alarge-transmit-power symbol transmitted from the short-rangecommunication AP and thus does not transmit a long-range communicationsymbol. Hence, an appliance that performs short-range communication canavoid deterioration of the data reception quality which is caused by along-range communication symbol.

In addition, an appliance that performs long-range communication canmonitor transmission of a short-range communication symbol by receivinga large-transmit-power symbol transmitted between time segments in whichshort-range communication symbols are transmitted. Hence, it is notnecessary to set a long time for the period of time U (e.g., see FIG.23) in which the appliances that perform long-range communicationmonitor the radio wave situation, thus making it possible to avoid areduction in the efficiency of using time resources.

In FIG. 24, for example, the short-range communication symbol 2301transmitted by the terminal # B (104) needs to include a short-rangecommunication control symbol (e.g., see FIG. 3) indicating informationfor notifying the short-range communication AP #1 (103) that theterminal # B (104) is to transmit the short-range communication symbol2302 in next transmission.

Thus, by using the short-range communication control symbol, theterminal # B (104) transmits information indicating whether or not ashort-range communication symbol is also transmitted in next andsubsequent frames. In this case, the terminal # B (104) may transmit,for example, information indicating the number of frames for short-rangecommunication symbols to be transmitted in next and subsequent frames ormay transmit information indicating whether or not a short-rangecommunication symbol is to be transmitted in the next frame.

Next, a communication method when the terminal # B (104) supports bothshort-range communication and long-range communication will be describedwith reference to FIG. 25.

In this case, a similar problem arises as in the terminal # B (104) thatsupports only transmission of short-range communication symbols.Specifically, when the time segment for short-range communicationsymbols is sufficiently long, a terminal that supports transmission ofboth large-transmit-power symbols and short-range communication symbolssuffers deterioration of the reception quality and a reduction in theresource use efficiency in short-range communication, the deteriorationand the reduction being caused by long-range communication symbols, asin the case in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example structure of one frame transmitted by theterminal # B (104). In FIG. 25, the horizontal axis represents time, andthe vertical axis represents a transmit power.

Symbols 2501, 2502, 2503, and 2504 illustrated in FIG. 25 areshort-range communication symbols. That is, the terminal # B (104)transmits short-range communication symbols over relatively long timesegments for the symbols 2501 to 2504.

Symbols 2505, 2506, 2507, 2508 illustrated in FIG. 25 arelarge-transmit-power symbols. In this case, it is assumed that at leastthe large-transmit-power symbols 2505 have substantially the samestructure as, for example, the large-transmit-power symbols 301illustrated in FIG. 3.

Also, the large-transmit-power symbols 2506, 2507, and 2508 are symbolstransmitted in the middle of frames in which the short-rangecommunication symbols are transmitted, and may have the same structureas that of the large-transmit-power symbols 2505 or may have a structurethat is different therefrom. For example, when the large-transmit-powersymbols 2506, 2507, and 2508 have a structure that is different fromthat of the large-transmit-power symbols 2505, a synchronization symboland/or an AGC symbol do not necessarily have to exist in thelarge-transmit-power symbols 2506, 2507, and 2508.

Since the large-transmit-power symbols and the short-range communicationsymbols in FIG. 25 are substantially the same as those described in thefirst embodiment by using FIGS. 6 to 10, expressions (1) to (6), and soon, descriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

Even when the terminal # B (104) transmits the short-range communicationsymbols in relatively large time segments, and the amount of timeoccupied by the short-range communication symbols increases as describedabove, a large-transmit-power symbol exists between the short-rangecommunication symbols.

Thus, in the time segment occupied by the short-range communicationsymbols transmitted from the terminal, the appliance (AP (101) and theterminal # A (102)) that perform long-range communication detect alarge-transmit-power symbol transmitted from the terminal and thus doesnot transmit a long-range communication symbol. Hence, an appliance thatperforms short-range communication can avoid deterioration of the datareception quality which is caused by a long-range communication symbol.

In addition, by receiving a large-transmit-power symbol transmittedbetween adjacent time segments in which short-range communicationsymbols are transmitted, an appliance that performs long-rangecommunication can monitor transmission of the short-range communicationsymbols. Hence, it is not necessary to set a long time for the period oftime U (e.g., see FIG. 23) in which the appliances that performlong-range communication monitor the radio wave situation, thus makingit possible to avoid a reduction in the efficiency of using timeresources.

Next, a description will be given of example operations 1 and 2 of theappliances that perform short-range communication when the communicationmethod illustrated in FIG. 24 is applied to the appliances.

Example Operation 1

A communication state of each appliance after the terminal # B (104) andthe short-range communication AP #1 (103) start communication will bedescribed as one example with reference to FIG. 26.

In FIG. 26, FIG. 26(A) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the terminal # B (104) illustrated inFIG. 16, FIG. 26(B) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the short-range communication AP #1(103) illustrated in FIG. 16, FIG. 26(C) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the terminal # C (106)illustrated in FIG. 16, and FIG. 26(D) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the short-rangecommunication AP #2 (105) illustrated in FIG. 16.

In FIGS. 26(A) to 26(D), the horizontal axis represents time, and thevertical axis represents a transmit power.

Also, in FIG. 26, the terminal # B (104), the short-range communicationAP #1 (103), the terminal # C (106), and the short-range communicationAP #2 (105) transmit modulated signals by using the same frequency(frequency band).

As illustrated in FIG. 26(A), the terminal # B (104) transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2602 in a time period t2.

As illustrated in FIG. 26(B), the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2603 in a time period t3,transmits a short-range communication symbol 2604 in a time period t4,transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2605 in a time period t5,transmits a short-range communication symbol 2606 in a time period t7,transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2607 in a time period t8,transmits a short-range communication symbol 2608 in a time period t10,transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2609 in a time period t11, andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 2610 in a time period t13.

As described above, upon recognizing that the terminal # B that is acommunication partner is not transmitting a large-transmit-power symbol,the short-range communication AP #1 transmits a large-transmit-powersymbol. That is, the short-range communication AP #1 receives ashort-range communication symbol transmitted by the terminal # B anddetermines that the short-range communication AP #1 is to transmit alarge-transmit-power symbol and a short-range communication symbol.

As illustrated in FIG. 26(C), the terminal # C (106) transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2612 in the time period t7, transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2613 in the time period t10, andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 2614 in the time periodt13.

As illustrated in FIG. 26(D), the short-range communication AP #2 (105)transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2615 in a time period t9 andtransmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2616 in a time period t12.

As described above, upon recognizing that the terminal # C that is acommunication partner is transmitting a short-range communicationsymbol, the short-range communication AP #2 transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol. That is, the short-range communication AP#2 receives the short-range communication symbol transmitted by theterminal # C and determines that the short-range communication AP #2 isto transmit a large-transmit-power symbol.

That is, upon determining that short-range communication is to becontinued, each of the short-range communication AP #1 and theshort-range communication AP #2 illustrated in FIG. 26 transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol.

Since the large-transmit-power symbols and the short-range communicationsymbols illustrated in FIGS. 26(A) to 26(D) are substantially the sameas those described, for example, in the first embodiment by using FIGS.6 to 10, expressions (1) to (6), and so on, descriptions thereof are notgiven hereinafter.

A characteristic point in FIG. 26 will be described below.

In the time period t7, the short-range communication AP #1 and theterminal # C transmit the short-range communication symbols 2606 and2612, respectively; in the time period t10, the short-rangecommunication AP #1 and the terminal # C transmit the short-rangecommunication symbols 2608 and 2613, respectively; and in the timeperiod t13, the short-range communication AP #1 and the terminal # Ctransmit the short-range communication symbols 2610 and 2614,respectively.

That is, in FIG. 26, the plurality of appliances transmit theshort-range communication symbols in the same time periods (t7, t10, andt13), as in the first embodiment (e.g., see FIG. 17). As described abovein the first embodiment, even when the terminal # C transmits ashort-range communication symbol in a time period in which the terminal# B and the short-range communication AP #1 are performing short-rangecommunication, the possibility that the modulated signals interfere witheach other is low, when the spatial distance reached by the short-rangecommunication symbols is considered.

Hence, the plurality of appliances can transmit short-rangecommunication symbols at the same frequency (frequency band) and in thesame time period, thus making it possible to obtain an advantage in thatthe data transmission efficiency in the system increases.

Another characteristic point in FIG. 26 will be described next.

In FIG. 26, control is performed so that a plurality oflarge-transmit-power symbols do not exist in the same time period, as inthe first embodiment (e.g., see FIG. 17).

For example, in FIG. 26, time intervals (the time periods t8 and t9) inwhich two or more short-range communication symbols can be time-dividedexist between the short-range communication symbol 2606 and theshort-range communication symbol 2608. In other words, time intervals inwhich two or more large-transmit-power symbols are arranged withoutoverlapping each other in a time domain exist between the short-rangecommunication symbol 2606 and the short-range communication symbol 2608.For example, the frame structure between the short-range communicationsymbol 2606 and the short-range communication symbol 2608 is such thattwo large-transmit-power symbols can be transmitted.

Thus, two or more appliances can transmit large-transmit-power symbolsbetween the short-range communication symbol 2606 and the short-rangecommunication symbol 2608. For example, in FIG. 26, in the time periodt8, the short-range communication AP #1 transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbol 2607 between the short-range communicationsymbol 2606 and the short-range communication symbol 2608, and in thetime period t9, the short-range communication AP #2 transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbol 2615 between the short-range communicationsymbol 2606 and the short-range communication symbol 2608. That is, theshort-range communication AP #1 and the short-range communication AP #2transmit the large-transmit-power symbols without interference.

As illustrated in FIG. 26, when appliances transmit large-transmit-powersymbols without overlapping each other in a time domain, a larger numberof appliances can receive the large-transmit-power symbols, thus makingit possible to reduce the possibility that each appliance transmits amodulated signal that can cause interference. This makes it possible toobtain an advantage in that the data transmission efficiency in thesystem improves.

Also, in FIG. 26, a large-transmit-power symbol, which is nottransmitted from a terminal that performs short-range communication, istransmitted from the short-range communication AP that is acommunication partner. As a result, even when the terminal or theshort-range communication AP continuously transmits a series ofshort-range communication symbols, and the period of time occupied bythe short-range communication symbols increases, a large-transmit-powersymbol transmitted by the short-range communication AP exists betweenthe short-range communication symbols.

For example, the terminal # B (104) transmits the short-rangecommunication symbol 2602 in the time period t2, as illustrated in FIG.26(A), and the short-range communication AP #1 transmits the short-rangecommunication symbols 2604, 2606, 2608, and 2610 in the time periods t4,t7, t10, and t13, as illustrated in FIG. 26(B). Accordingly, asillustrated in FIG. 26(B), the short-range communication AP #1 transmitsthe large-transmit-power symbols 2603, 2605, 2607, and 2609 in the timeperiods t3, t5, t8, and t11 in order to notify other appliances that theshort-range communication symbols are transmitted in the time periodst2, t4, t7, t10, and t13.

Also, for example, the short-range communication AP #2 (105) transmitsthe large-transmit-power symbols 2615 and 2616 in the time periods t9and t12, as illustrated in FIG. 26(D), in order to notify otherappliances that the terminal # C (106) transmit the short-rangecommunication symbols 2612, 2613, and 2614 in the time periods t7, t10,and t13, as illustrated in FIG. 26(C).

Thus, in the time segment occupied by the short-range communicationsymbols, the appliances (AP (101) and the terminal # A (102)) thatperform long-range communication detect the large-transmit-power symbolsand thus do not transmit long-range communication symbols. The AP 101and the terminal # A (102) receive, for example, thelarge-transmit-power symbols (illustrated in FIG. 26) respectivelytransmitted by the short-range communication AP #1 and the short-rangecommunication AP #2 and determine that long-range communication symbolsare not to be transmitted in the segment of the time periods t2 to t13illustrated in FIG. 26.

Hence, an appliance that performs short-range communication can avoiddeterioration of the data reception quality which is caused by along-range communication symbol. In addition, by receiving alarge-transmit-power symbol transmitted between adjacent time segmentsin which short-range communication symbols are transmitted, an appliancethat performs long-range communication can monitor transmission of theshort-range communication symbols. Hence, it is not necessary to set along time for the period of time U (e.g., see FIG. 23) in which theappliances that perform long-range communication monitor the radio wavesituation, thus making it possible to avoid a reduction in theefficiency of using time resources.

An example in which a plurality of appliances transmit short-rangecommunication symbols is not limited to FIG. 26. For example, twoshort-range communication APs may transmit short-range communicationsymbols at the same time, two terminals may transmit short-rangecommunication symbols at the same time, or a short-range communicationAP and a terminal may transmit short-range communication symbols at thesame time. Also, the number of appliances that transmit short-rangecommunication symbols at the same time may be three or more. Asdescribed above, by receiving and demodulating a large-transmit-powersymbol and making a determination, each appliance determines whether ornot a short-range communication symbol is to be transmitted.

Also, although the short-range communication symbols 2606 and 2612 existin the time period t7 illustrated in FIG. 26, for example, the framestructure may be such that the short-range communication symbol 2606exists throughout the time period t7 and the short-range communicationsymbol 2612 having a time interval that is shorter than the timeinterval of the short-range communication symbol 2606 exists in therange of the time period t7. That is, a time resource occupied by theshort-range communication symbol 2606 and a time resource occupied bythe short-range communication symbol 2612 do not necessarily have to bethe same. In other words, the time interval used by the short-rangecommunication symbol 2606 and the time interval used by the short-rangecommunication symbol 2612 do not necessarily have to be the same. Inthis respect, a similar structure may also be used when a plurality ofshort-range communication symbols exist at the same time.

Example Operation 2

A communication state of each appliance after the terminal # B (104) andthe short-range communication AP #1 (103) start communication will bedescribed as one example with reference to FIG. 27.

In FIG. 27, FIG. 27(A) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the terminal # B (104) illustrated inFIG. 16, FIG. 27(B) illustrates one example frame structure of amodulated signal transmitted by the short-range communication AP #1(103) illustrated in FIG. 16, FIG. 27(C) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the terminal # C (106)illustrated in FIG. 16, and FIG. 27(D) illustrates one example framestructure of a modulated signal transmitted by the short-rangecommunication AP #2 (105) illustrated in FIG. 16.

In FIGS. 27(A) to 27(D), the horizontal axis represents time, and thevertical axis represents a transmit power.

Also, in FIG. 27, the terminal # B (104), the short-range communicationAP #1 (103), the terminal # C (106), and the short-range communicationAP #2 (105) transmit modulated signals by using the same frequency(frequency band).

As illustrated in FIG. 27(A), the terminal # B (104) transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2701 in a time period t2.

As illustrated in FIG. 27(B), the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2702 in a time period t3,transmits a short-range communication symbol 2703 in a time period t4,transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2704 in a time period t5,transmits a short-range communication symbol 2705 in a time period t6,transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2706 in a time period t7,transmits a short-range communication symbol 2707 in a time period t8,transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2708 in a time period t0, andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 2709 in a time period t10.

As described above, upon recognizing that the terminal # B that is acommunication partner is not transmitting a large-transmit-power symbol,the short-range communication AP #1 transmits a large-transmit-powersymbol. That is, the short-range communication AP #1 receives ashort-range communication symbol transmitted by the terminal # B anddetermines that the short-range communication AP #1 is to transmit alarge-transmit-power symbol and a short-range communication symbol.

As illustrated in FIG. 27(C), the terminal # C (106) transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2710 in the time period t8, transmits ashort-range communication symbol 2711 in the time period t10, transmitsa short-range communication symbol 2712 in a time period t12, andtransmits a short-range communication symbol 2713 in a time period t14.

As illustrated in FIG. 27(D), the short-range communication AP #2 (105)transmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2714 in a time period t11 andtransmits a large-transmit-power symbol 2715 in a time period t13.

As described above, upon recognizing that the terminal # C that is acommunication partner is transmitting a short-range communicationsymbol, the short-range communication AP #2 transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol. That is, the short-range communication AP#2 receives the short-range communication symbol transmitted by theterminal # C and determines that the short-range communication AP #2 isto transmit a large-transmit-power symbol.

That is, upon determining that short-range communication is to becontinued, each of the short-range communication AP #1 and theshort-range communication AP #2 illustrated in FIG. 27 transmits alarge-transmit-power symbol.

Since the large-transmit-power symbols and the short-range communicationsymbols in FIGS. 27(A) to 27(D) are substantially the same as thosedescribed using FIGS. 6 to 10, expressions (1) to (6), and so on,descriptions thereof are not given hereinafter.

A characteristic point in FIG. 27 will be described below.

In the time period t8, the short-range communication AP #1 and theterminal # C transmit the short-range communication symbols 2707 and2710, and in the time period t10, the short-range communication AP #1and the terminal # C transmit the short-range communication symbols 2709and 2711.

That is, in FIG. 27, in the same time periods (t8 and t10), theplurality of appliances transmit the short-range communication symbols.As described above in the first embodiment, even when the terminal # Ctransmits short-range communication symbols in a time period in whichthe terminal # B and the short-range communication AP #1 are performingshort-range communication, the possibility that the modulated signalsinterfere with each other is low, when the spatial distance reached bythe short-range communication symbols is considered.

Hence, as in the second embodiment (see FIG. 19), the plurality ofappliances can transmit short-range communication symbols at the samefrequency (frequency band) and in the same time period, thus making itpossible to obtain an advantage in that the data transmission efficiencyin the system increases.

Another characteristic point in FIG. 27 will be described next.

In FIG. 27, control is performed so that a plurality oflarge-transmit-power symbols do not exist in the same time period, as inthe second embodiment (see FIG. 19).

For example, in FIG. 27, only the large-transmit-power symbols 2702,2704, 2706, and 2708 transmitted from the short-range communication AP#1 exist in the time periods t3, t5, t7, and t9, respectively. Also, inFIG. 27, only the large-transmit-power symbols 2714 and 2715 transmittedfrom the short-range communication AP #2 exist in the time periods t11and t13.

That is, only one of the plurality of appliances that performshort-range communication transmits the large-transmit-power symbol ineach of the time periods t3, t5, t7, t9, t11 and t13 illustrated in FIG.27. This makes it possible to avoid a plurality of large-transmit-powersymbols interfering with each other and allows a larger number ofappliances to receive large-transmit-power symbols. Thus, it is possibleto reduce the possibility that each appliance transmits a modulatedsignal that can cause interference. This makes it possible to obtain anadvantage in that the data transmission efficiency in the systemimproves.

More specifically, the purpose of transmitting the large-transmit-powersymbol is to notify other appliances as to whether each appliance isperforming short-range communication or long-range communication, asdescribed above in the first embodiment. Examples of the otherappliances include the AP (101), the terminal # A (102), the short-rangecommunication AP #1 (103), the terminal # B (104), the short-rangecommunication AP #2 (105), the terminal # C (106), the short-rangecommunication AP #3 (107), and the terminal # C (108) in FIG. 16.

That is, it is sufficient that the AP (101) and the terminal # A (102)be notified that short-range communication is being performed in thesegment of the time periods t2 to t14 illustrated in FIG. 27.

Hence, it is sufficient that the large-transmit-power symbol for givinga notification indicating that short-range communication is beingperformed in a certain time period be transmitted from at least one of aplurality of appliances that perform short-range communication, asillustrated in FIG. 27.

For example, in FIG. 27, in a state in which neither short-rangecommunication nor long-range communication is performed, first, theterminal # B (104) performs short-range communication. That is, theterminal # B (104) transmits the short-range communication symbol 2701to the short-range communication AP #1 (103) that is a communicationpartner. Thus, the time segment of the time periods t2 is allocated(reserved) as a segment for short-range communication. However, sincethe terminal # B (104) is a terminal that does not support transmissionof a large-transmit-power symbol, the AP (101) and the terminal # A(102) do not detect a large-transmit-power symbol in the time period t2.

Subsequently, the short-range communication AP #1 (103) receives theshort-range communication symbol 2701, transmits thelarge-transmit-power symbol 2702 in the time period t3, transmits theshort-range communication symbol 2703 in the time period t4, transmitsthe large-transmit-power symbol 2704 in the time period t5, transmitsthe short-range communication symbol 2705 in the time period t6,transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 2706 in the time period t7,transmits the short-range communication symbol 2707 in the time periodt8, transmits the large-transmit-power symbol 2708 in the time periodt9, and transmits the short-range communication symbol 2709 in the timeperiod t10.

In this case, the AP (101) and the terminal # A (102) detect thelarge-transmit-power symbols 2702, 2704, 2706, and 2708 in the timeperiods t3, t5, t7, and t9 to thereby stop transmission of long-rangecommunication symbols. Thus, the time segment of the time periods t3 tot10 is allocated (reserved) as a segment for short-range communication.

In this case, it is assumed that the terminal # C (106) enters a statein which it needs to transmit the short-range communication symbol 2710in the time period t8.

At this point in time, since the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits the large-transmit-power symbols in the segment of the timeperiods t3 to t10, and the terminal # C (106) is a terminal that doesnot support transmission of a large-transmit-power symbol, the terminal# C (106) does not transmit a large-transmit-power symbol in the timeperiods t7 and t9. Since the time periods t3 to t10 are alreadyallocated as a data transmission segment for short-range communication(i.e., as a segment in which the short-range communication AP #1 (103)transmits short-range communication data), the terminal # C (106)transmits the short-range communication symbol 2710 in the time periodst8 and t10.

That is, it is assumed that, in order to transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol, any (which is assumed to be an “appliance #1”, byway of example) of the appliances has reserved a time segment # A bytransmitting a large-transmit-power symbol. In this case, anotherappliance (which is assumed to be an “appliance #2”, by way of example)recognizes that the appliance #1 is transmitting thelarge-transmit-power symbol. A structure example of thelarge-transmit-power symbol in this case is described later.Subsequently, when the appliance #2 needs to transmit a short-rangecommunication symbol in the time segment # A, the appliance #2 transmitsa short-range communication symbol without transmitting alarge-transmit-power symbol.

Also, in the time periods t11 to t14 illustrated in FIG. 27, theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) and the terminal # B (104) do nottransmit a modulated signal, and appliances other than the short-rangecommunication AP #2 (105) do not transmit a short-range communicationsymbol. In this case, since the terminal # C (106) is a terminal thatdoes not support transmission of a large-transmit-power symbol, theterminal # C (106) does not transmit a large-transmit-power symbol inthe time period t11. In the time period t12, the terminal # C (106)transmit the short-range communication symbol 2712. Similarly, theterminal # C (106) does not transmit a large-transmit-power symbol inthe time period t13 and transmits the short-range communication symbol2713 in the time period t14.

In this case, in FIG. 27, a large-transmit-power symbol, which is nottransmitted from a terminal that performs short-range communication, istransmitted from the short-range communication AP that is acommunication partner. As a result, even when the terminal or theshort-range communication AP continuously transmits a series ofshort-range communication symbols, and the amount of time occupied bythe short-range communication symbols increases, a large-transmit-powersymbol transmitted by the short-range communication AP exists betweenthe short-range communication symbols.

For example, the terminal # C (106) transmit the short-rangecommunication symbols 2712 and 2713 in the time periods t12 and t14, asillustrated in FIG. 27(C). Accordingly, the short-range communication AP#2 transmits the large-transmit-power symbols 2714 and 2715 in the timeperiods t11 and t13, as illustrated in FIG. 27(D), in order to notifyother appliances that short-range communication symbols are transmittedin the time periods t12 and t14.

Thus, in the time segment occupied by the short-range communicationsymbols, the appliances (AP (101) and the terminal # A (102)) thatperform long-range communication detect the large-transmit-power symbolsand thus do not transmit long-range communication symbols. The AP 101and the terminal # A (102) receive, for example, thelarge-transmit-power symbols (illustrated in FIG. 27) respectivelytransmitted by the short-range communication AP #1 and the short-rangecommunication AP #2 and determine that long-range communication symbolsare not to be transmitted in the segment of the time periods t2 to t13illustrated in FIG. 27.

Hence, an appliance that performs short-range communication can avoiddeterioration of the data reception quality which is caused by along-range communication symbol. In addition, by receiving alarge-transmit-power symbol transmitted between adjacent time segmentsin which short-range communication symbols are transmitted, an appliancethat performs long-range communication can monitor transmission of theshort-range communication symbols. Hence, it is not necessary to set along time for the period of time U (e.g., see FIG. 23) in which theappliances that perform long-range communication monitor the radio wavesituation, thus making it possible to avoid a reduction in theefficiency of using time resources.

In order to realize the operations of the appliances illustrated in FIG.27, for example, it is necessary that the large-transmit-power symbol2708 that the short-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits in thetime period t9 be recognized by other appliances as the lastlarge-transmit-power symbol that is to be transmitted when theshort-range communication AP #1 (103) transmits the series ofshort-range communication symbols (2703, 2705, 2707, and 2709).

Accordingly, for example, during transmission of the series ofshort-range communication symbols, the large-transmit-power symbol 2708may include information indicating that it is the lastlarge-transmit-power symbol to be transmitted.

Also, another possible method is a method in which alarge-transmit-power symbol includes information indicating the numberof frames to be transmitted and information indicating the number of aframe that is currently transmitted. For instance, symbols to betransmitted by the short-range communication AP #1 illustrated in FIG.27(B) will now be described as one example.

In this case, in FIG. 27(B), a segment in which the large-transmit-powersymbol 2702 and the short-range communication symbol 2703 aretransmitted is referred to as a “first frame”, a segment in which thelarge-transmit-power symbol 2704 and the short-range communicationsymbol 2705 are transmitted is referred to as a “second frame”, asegment in which the large-transmit-power symbol 2706 and theshort-range communication symbol 2707 are transmitted is referred to asa “third frame”, and a segment in which the large-transmit-power symbol2708 and the short-range communication symbol 2709 are transmitted isreferred to as a “fourth frame”.

In this case, the large-transmit-power symbol 2702 includes informationindicating that the number of frames to be transmitted is “4” andinformation indicating that number of a frame that is being transmittedis “1”. The large-transmit-power symbol 2704 also includes informationindicating that the number of frames to be transmitted is “4” andinformation indicating that the number of a frame that is beingtransmitted is “2”. The large-transmit-power symbol 2706 includesinformation indicating that the number of frames to be transmitted is“4” and information indicating that the number of a frame that is beingtransmitted is “3”, and the large-transmit-power symbol 2708 includesinformation indicating that the number of frames to be transmitted is“4” and information indicating that the number of a frame that is beingtransmitted is “4”.

Other appliances receive such a large-transmit-power symbol includinginformation indicating the number of frames to be transmitted andinformation indicating the number of each frame.

With this processing, for example, the terminal # C (106) receives thelarge-transmit-power symbol transmitted by the short-range communicationAP #1 (103) in the time period t3 or t5 and refers to the informationincluded in the received large-transmit-power symbol to therebyrecognize that short-range communication symbols are to be transmittedfrom the short-range communication AP #1 (103) in the time periods t3 tot10. Thus, the terminal # C (106) that is a terminal that does nottransmit a large-transmit-power symbol does not transmit alarge-transmit-power symbol in the time period t7, transmits theshort-range communication symbol 2710 in the time period t8, does nottransmit a large-transmit-power symbol in the time period t9, andtransmits the short-range communication symbol 2711 in the time periodt10.

An example in which a plurality of appliances transmit short-rangecommunication symbols is not limited to that in FIG. 27. For example,two short-range communication APs may transmit short-range communicationsymbols at the same time, two terminals may transmit short-rangecommunication symbols in the same time period, or a short-rangecommunication AP and a terminal may transmit short-range communicationsymbols at the same time. Also, the number of appliances that transmitshort-range communication symbols in the same time period may be threeor more. As described above, by receiving and demodulating alarge-transmit-power symbol and making a determination, each appliancedetermines whether or not a short-range communication symbol is to betransmitted.

Also, although the short-range communication symbols 2707 and 2710 existin the time period t8 illustrated in FIG. 27, for example, the framestructure may be such that the short-range communication symbol 2707exists throughout the time period t8 and the short-range communicationsymbol 2710 having a time interval that is shorter than the timeinterval of the short-range communication symbol 2707 exists in therange of the time period t8. That is, a time resource occupied by theshort-range communication symbol 2707 and a time resource occupied bythe short-range communication symbol 2710 do not necessarily have to bethe same. In other words, the time interval used by the short-rangecommunication symbol 2707 and the time interval used by the short-rangecommunication symbol 2710 do not necessarily have to be the same. Inthis respect, a similar structure may also be used when a plurality ofshort-range communication symbols exist at the same time.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above.

Naturally, the embodiments described hereinabove may be implemented by acombination of other modes.

The embodiments and the other modes are merely examples, and forexample, even when a modulation system, an error-correction encodingsystem (e.g., error correction coding, a code length, and a coding ratethat are used), control information, and so on have been exemplifiedabove, other “modulation system, error-correction encoding system (e.g.,error correction coding, a code length, and a coding rate that areused), control information, and so on can also be used to implement thepresent disclosure with a configuration that is the same as or similarto that described above.

Even when a modulation system other than the modulation system describedherein is used, it is possible to realize the embodiments describedhereinabove and the other modes. For example, the modulation system maybe implemented by amplitude and phase-shift keying (APSK; e.g., 16APSK,64APSK, 128APSK, 256APSK, 1024APSK, or 4096APSK), pulse-amplitudemodulation (PAM e.g., 4PAM, 8PAM, 16PAM, 64 PAM, 128PAM, 256PAM,1024PAM, or 4096PAM), phase-shift keying (PSK: e.g., BPSK, QPSK, 8PSK,16PSK, 64PSK, 128PSK, 256PSK, 1024PSK, or 4096PSK), or quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM; e.g., 4QAM, 8QAM, 16QAM, 64QAM, 128QAM,256QAM, 1024QAM, or 4096QAM). Uniform mapping or non-uniform mapping mayalso be employed in each modulation system.

A method for arranging signal points in an I-Q plane (a modulationsystem using two, four, eight, 16, 64, 128, 256, or 1024 signal points)is not limited to the signal point arranging method based on themodulation system described hereinabove.

Herein, data and information obtained by the receiver in each terminalor base station (AP) is converted into video and sound, the video may bedisplayed on a display (monitor), and the sound may be output from aspeaker. In addition, the data or information obtained by the receivermay be (or may not be) subjected to signal processing for video orsound, and may be output from RCA terminals (a video terminal and asound terminal), Universal Serial Bus (USB®, High-Definition MultimediaInterface (HDMI®), a digital terminal, or the like included in thereceiver.

Herein, what is equipped with the transmitter is thought to be, forexample, a communication and broadcast appliance, such as a broadcaststation, a base station, an access point, a terminal, or a mobile phone,and what is equipped with the receiver is thought to be, for example, acommunication appliance, such as a television, a radio, a terminal, apersonal computer, a mobile phone, an access point, or a base station.Another possible configuration is that each of the transmitter and thereceiver in the present disclosure is a constituent element that has acommunication function and that is connectable to an apparatus (such asa television, a radio, a personal computer, a mobile phone) forexecuting an application via some type of interface.

In the present embodiment, symbols other than the data symbols, forexample, pilot symbols (such as preamble, unique word, postamble, andreference symbols) and symbols for control information may be arrangedin frames in any manner. Although the symbols other than the datasymbols are, in this case, termed the “pilot symbols” and the “symbolsfor control information”, they may be given any terms, and the functionsthereof are important.

The pilot symbols may be, for example, known symbols modulated by atransceiver through use of PSK modulation (or symbols that aretransmitted by a transmitter and that can be known by a receiver throughsynchronization performed by the receiver), and by using the symbols,the receiver performs frequency synchronization, time synchronization,channel estimation (channel state information (CSI) estimation) of eachmodulated signal, signal detection, and so on.

The symbols for control information are symbols for realizingcommunication other than communication of data (of an application and soon) and for transmitting information (e.g., a coding rate in amodulation system, an error-correction encoding system, or anerror-correction encoding system, and setting information in an upperlayer) that needs to be transmitted to a communication partner.

A case in which the AGC symbol, the short-range communication AGCsymbol, and the long-range communication AGC symbol are not included ina frame is also possible in the frame structures illustrated in FIGS. 3,4, 5, 13, 15, and so on. In such a case, the function of the AGC symbol(i.e., the function with which a receiving apparatus perform gainadjustment on a received signal) may be provided in symbols, such assynchronization symbols or control symbols, and the receiving apparatusmay perform gain adjustment on a received signal by using the symbols,such as synchronization symbols or control symbols.

In addition, the present disclosure is not limited to each embodimentand can be implemented in various modifications. For example, although,in each embodiment, the present disclosure has been described above asbeing implemented by a communication apparatus, the present disclosureis not limited thereto, and this communication method can also beimplemented using software in cooperation with hardware.

Also, for example, a program for executing the above-describedcommunication method may be pre-stored in a read-only memory (ROM), anda central processing unit (CPU) may run the program.

Also, the program for executing the above-described communication methodmay be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, the program storedin the storage medium may be recorded in a random-access memory (RAM) inthe computer, and the computer may operate in accordance with theprogram.

Also, the individual functional blocks used in the above-describedembodiments may be typically realized as a large-scale integration(LSI), which is an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit maycontrol the individual functional blocks used in the description of theembodiments and may have an input and an output. The functional blocksmay be individually integrated into single chips or may be integratedinto a single chip so as to include some or all of the constituentelements in each embodiment. Although the functional blocks areimplemented as an LSI in this case, they may also be called anintegrated circuit (IC), a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSIdepending on a difference in the degree of integration. The scheme forimplementing an integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI and may berealized with a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. Afield programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed aftermanufacture of an LSI or a reconfigurable processor that allowsreconfiguration of connections and settings of circuit cells inside anLSI may also be used.

In addition, when a technology for circuit integration that replaces LSIbecomes available with the advancement of a semiconductor technology oranother derivative technology, such a technology may also naturally beused to integrate the functional blocks. For example, biotechnology isapplicable.

A transmission method according to the present disclosure is directed toa transmission method for a communication system in which communicationsusing a plurality of communication methods having different transmissionparameters are performed in frequency bands that at least partiallyoverlap with each other. The transmission method includes: generating afirst symbol group that includes a control symbol for causing acommunication partner apparatus to recognize that communication using afirst communication method is to be performed, and a second symbol groupthat includes a data symbol for the first communication method;transmitting the first symbol group at a first transmit power; andtransmitting the second symbol group at a second transmit power that issmaller than the first transmit power.

In the transmission method according to the present disclosure, thefirst symbol group may include a first gain control (AGC) symbol for areceiving apparatus to adjust a received-signal level based on with thefirst transmit power; and the second symbol group may include a secondAGC symbol for the receiving apparatus to adjust the received-signallevel based on the second transmit power.

In the transmission method according to the present disclosure, thefirst symbol group may include another control symbol indicating whichof the first communication method and a second communication method isto be performed, the second communication method allowing longer rangecommunication than the first communication method.

In the transmission method according to the present disclosure, arelationship given by expression (6) noted above may be satisfiedbetween a first average electric power of signal points in anin-phase/quadrature-phase plane for each symbol of the first symbolgroup and a second average electric power of signal points in thein-phase/quadrature-phase plane for each symbol in the second symbolgroup. In this case, M denotes a number of signal points in thein-phase/quadrature-phase plane for the first symbol group, N denotes anumber of signal points in the in-phase/quadrature-phase plane for thesecond symbol group, Ia,j denotes an in-phase component of each signalpoint in the first symbol group, Qa,j denotes a quadrature component ofeach signal point in the first symbol group, Ib,j denotes an in-phasecomponent of each signal point in the second symbol group, and Qb,jdenotes a quadrature component of each signal point in the second symbolgroup.

In the transmission method according to the present disclosure, aplurality of time segments in which a certain number of the first symbolgroups are transmittable may be provided between adjacent time segmentsin which the second symbol group is transmitted; and communicationapparatuses that support the first communication method may respectivelytransmit the first symbol groups in mutually different time segmentswithin the plurality of time segments.

In the transmission method according to the present disclosure, a singletime segment in which the first symbol group is transmittable may beprovided between adjacent time segments in which the second symbol groupis transmitted; and in the single time segment, the first symbol groupmay be transmitted from one of a plurality of communication apparatusesthat support the first communication method.

In the transmission method according to the present disclosure, thefirst symbol group may be transmitted from a communication apparatusthat transmits the second symbol group and that supports the firstcommunication system.

In the transmission method according to the present disclosure, thecommunication using the first communication method may be performedbetween a terminal and a base station, and when the terminal transmitsthe second symbol group, the first symbol group may be transmitted fromthe base station that is a communication partner of the terminal.

A transmission control method according to the present disclosure isdirected to a transmission control method for a communication system inwhich communications using a plurality of communication methodss havingdifferent transmission parameters are performed in frequency bands thatat least partially overlap with each other. The transmission controlmethod includes: receiving a modulated signal transmitted from acommunication partner apparatus, wherein the modulated signal includes afirst symbol group including a control symbol for recognizing thatcommunication using a first communication method is to be performed or asecond symbol group including a data symbol for the first communicationmethod, the first symbol group is transmitted at a first transmit power,and the second symbol group is transmitted at a second transmit powerthat is smaller than the first transmit power; and stoppingcommunication using a second communication method in which the firsttransmit power is used for data transmission, when the first symbolgroup is received, and executing the communication using the secondcommunication method, when the first symbol group is not received.

A communication apparatus according to the present disclosure isdirected to a communication apparatus for a communication system inwhich communications using a plurality of communication methods havingdifferent transmission parameters are performed in frequency bands thatat least partially overlap with each other. The communication apparatusincludes: a generator that generates a first symbol group including acontrol symbol for causing a communication partner apparatus torecognize that communication using a first communication method is to beperformed and a second symbol group including a data symbol for thefirst communication method; and a transmitter that transmits the firstsymbol group at a first transmit power and that transmits the secondsymbol group at a second transmit power that is smaller than the firsttransmit power.

A communication apparatus according to the present disclosure isdirected to a communication apparatus for a communication system inwhich communications using a plurality of communication methods havingdifferent transmission parameters are performed in frequency bands thatat least partially overlap with each other. The communication apparatusincludes: a receiver that receives a modulated signal transmitted from acommunication partner apparatus, wherein the modulated signal includes afirst symbol group including a control symbol for acknowledging thatcommunication using a first communication method is to be performed or asecond symbol group including a data symbol for the first communicationmethod, the first symbol group is transmitted at a first transmit power,and the second symbol group is transmitted at a second transmit powerthat is smaller than the first transmit power; and a controller thatstops communication using a second communication method in which thefirst transmit power is used for data transmission, when the receivedmodulated signal includes the first symbol group, and that executescommunication using the second communication method, when the receivedmodulated signal does not include the first symbol group.

One aspect of the present disclosure is useful for a mobilecommunications system.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transmission method for a communication system in which communications using a plurality of communication methods having different transmission parameters are performed in frequency bands that at least partially overlap with each other, the transmission method comprising: generating a first symbol group that includes a control symbol for causing a communication partner apparatus to recognize that a short-range communication using a first communication method is to be performed, and a second symbol group that includes a data symbol for the short-range communication; transmitting the first symbol group at a first transmit power, wherein the first symbol group includes the control symbol and a first gain control (AGC) symbol for the communication partner apparatus to adjust a received-signal level based on the first transmit power; and transmitting the second symbol group at a second transmit power that is smaller than the first transmit power, wherein the second symbol group includes the data symbol and a second AGC symbol for the communication partner apparatus to adjust the received-signal level based on the second transmit power.
 2. The transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the first symbol group includes another control symbol indicating which of the first communication method and a second communication method is to be performed, the second communication method allowing longer range communication than the first communication method.
 3. The transmission method according to claim 1, wherein a relationship given by expression (1) is satisfied between a first average electric power of signal points in an in-phase/quadrature-phase plane for each symbol of the first symbol group and a second average electric power of signal points in the in-phase/quadrature-phase plane for each symbol in the second symbol group, $\begin{matrix} {{\frac{1}{M}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{M}\;\left( {I_{a,j}^{2} + Q_{a,j}^{2}} \right)}} > {\frac{1}{N}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{N}\left( {I_{b,j}^{2} + Q_{b,j}^{2}} \right)}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$ where M denotes a number of signal points in the in-phase/quadrature-phase plane for the first symbol group, N denotes a number of signal points in the in-phase/quadrature-phase plane for the second symbol group, Ia,j denotes an in-phase component of each signal point in the first symbol group, Qa,j denotes a quadrature component of each signal point in the first symbol group, Ib,j denotes an in-phase component of each signal point in the second symbol group, and Qb,j denotes a quadrature component of each signal point in the second symbol group.
 4. The transmission method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of time segments in which a certain number of the first symbol groups are transmittable are provided between adjacent time segments in which the second symbol group is transmitted; and communication apparatuses that support the first communication method respectively transmit the first symbol groups in mutually different time segments within the plurality of time segments.
 5. The transmission method according to claim 1, wherein a single time segment in which the first symbol group is transmittable is provided between adjacent time segments in which the second symbol group is transmitted, and in the single time segment, the first symbol group is transmitted from one of a plurality of communication apparatuses that support the first communication method.
 6. The transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the first symbol group is transmitted from a communication apparatus that transmits the second symbol group and that supports the first communication system.
 7. The transmission method according to claim 1, wherein the communication using the first communication method is performed between a terminal and a base station, and when the terminal transmits the second symbol group, the first symbol group is transmitted from the base station that is a communication partner of the terminal.
 8. A transmission control method for a communication system in which communications using a plurality of communication methods having different transmission parameters are performed in frequency bands that at least partially overlap with each other, the transmission control method comprising: receiving a modulated signal transmitted from a communication partner apparatus, wherein the modulated signal includes a first symbol group including a control symbol for recognizing that a short-range communication using a first communication method is to be performed and a second symbol group including a data symbol for the short-range communication, the first symbol group is transmitted at a first transmit power, and the second symbol group is transmitted at a second transmit power that is smaller than the first transmit power, wherein the first symbol group includes the control symbol and a first gain control (AGC) symbol for a receiving apparatus to adjust a received-signal level based on the first transmit power and wherein the second symbol group includes the data symbol and a second AGC symbol for the receiving apparatus to adjust the received-signal level based on the second transmit power; and stopping communication using a second communication method in which the first transmit power is used for data transmission, when the first symbol group is received, and executing the communication using the second communication method, when the first symbol group is not received.
 9. A communication apparatus for a communication system in which communications using a plurality of communication methods having different transmission parameters are performed in frequency bands that at least partially overlap with each other, the communication apparatus comprising: symbol generation circuitry that generates a first symbol group including a control symbol for causing a communication partner apparatus to recognize that a short-range communication using a first communication method is to be performed and a second symbol group including a data symbol for the short-range communication; and transmission circuitry that transmits the first symbol group at a first transmit power, wherein the first symbol group includes the control symbol and a first gain control (AGC) symbol for the communication partner apparatus to adjust a received-signal level based on the first transmit power, and that transmits the second symbol group at a second transmit power that is smaller than the first transmit power, wherein the second symbol group includes the data symbol and a second AGC symbol for the communication partner apparatus to adjust the received-signal level based on the second transmit power.
 10. A communication apparatus for a communication system in which communications using a plurality of communication methods having different transmission parameters are performed in frequency bands that at least partially overlap with each other, the communication apparatus comprising: reception circuitry that receives a modulated signal transmitted from a communication partner apparatus, wherein the modulated signal includes a first symbol group including a control symbol for acknowledging that a short-range communication using a first communication method is to be performed and a second symbol group including a data symbol for the short-range communication, the first symbol group is transmitted at a first transmit power, and the second symbol group is transmitted at a second transmit power that is smaller than the first transmit power, wherein the first symbol group includes the control symbol and a first gain control (AGC) symbol for a receiving apparatus to adjust a received-signal level based on the first transmit power and wherein the second symbol group includes the data symbol and a second AGC symbol for the receiving apparatus to adjust the received-signal level based on the second transmit power; and control circuitry that stops communication using a second communication method in which the first transmit power is used for data transmission, when the received modulated signal includes the first symbol group, and that executes communication using the second communication method, when the received modulated signal does not include the first symbol group. 